Loosely tufted perennial, the spreading base sometimes appearing rhizomatous; stems wiry, 1.0-4.5 dm tall, decumbent at base; leaf blade 1-5 cm long, less than 2 cm wide, inrolled; ligule 1-2 mm long; inflorescence 4-12 cm long, less than 3 cm wide, branches ascending to appressed; spikelets 3.5-5.0 mm long excluding the awn; glumes 2-3 mm long, tips acute to very short-awned; lemma short-soft hairy on the lower half, awn flexuous, 4-12 mm long. Flowers August to September.