Culms ca. 8 m, ca. 2.5 cm in diam.; internodes dull purple-green, becoming green with lower internodes tinged purple, to 35 cm, initially white powdery; wall ca. 5 mm thick; nodal ridge slightly elevated, as prominent as sheath scar; intranode ca. 5 mm. Culm sheaths pale red-brown, sometimes tinged green, sparsely to densely speckled, dark brown and glabrous along margins, sparsely strigose; auricles and oral setae well developed, purple; ligule purple, truncate to arcuate, short but broad, margin fringed with purple-tinged cilia; blade reflexed, purple to green, crinkled. Leaves usually 2 per ultimate branch; auricles inconspicuous; oral setae few; ligule scarcely exserted, truncate; blade 7–14 × 1.2–2.2 cm. New shoots mid Apr.

This species is grown mainly for the delicious shoots. The culms are weak but find some uses.

* Cultivated. Jiangsu, Zhejiang.