Plants laxly tufted, with long, underground rhizomes. Culms glabrous, 30–60 cm tall, 2–4-noded. Leaf sheath brown at base, longer than internode, glabrous; ligule ca. 0.5 mm, margin ciliate; leaf blade usually flat, 3–20 × 0.2–0.4 cm, abaxial surface and margin scabrous, adaxial surface puberulent and pilose. Spike greenish, 4–9 × 1–1.5 cm; rachis densely pubescent, margin hirsute. Spikelets 2 or 3 per node, with 1 or 2(or 3) florets; rachilla internodes 2.1–3.5 mm. Glumes (9–)10–13 mm, scabrous. Lemma glabrous to sparsely scabrous; first lemma 8–10 mm; awn (5–)7–9(–14) mm. Palea equaling lemma, ciliolate along keels. Anthers yellow, 4.5–6 mm. Caryopsis 4.5–6 mm. Fl. and fr. May–Aug. 2n = 14*.

In the protologue, the specific epithet was misspelled "huacha-nica" on p. 440, presumably as a typographical error. On pp. 98, 99, and 473 it was correctly spelled "huashanica."

* Stony and rocky slopes; 500–700 m. Henan, Shaanxi (Hua Shan).