Caespitose perennial arising from short underground rhizomes, the basal leaf-sheaths glabrous or very rarely obscurely puberulous; flowering culms wiry, typically 30-60 cm high (1 m or more in exceptionally robust plants), standing over a dense leafy tussock 10-20 cm high. Leaf-blades narrowly linear to conduplicate and filiform, 2-15(-30) cm long, 1-2(-4) mm wide, flexuous, glaucous, harshly scaberulous. False panicle typically scanty, up to 30 cm long, bearing 2-10 raceme-pairs or sometimes more; spatheoles linear-lanceolate, 3-8 cm long, at length reddish, the peduncles about as long. Racemes 2-4 cm long, 8-13 (-16 )-awned per pair, white villous, never deflexed; raceme-bases unequal, the upper 2.5-5 mm long, filiform, glabrous or more often pubescent to hirsute. Homogamous pairs 1 at the base of the lower or both racemes. Sessile spikelet 4-6.5 mm long, white villous (occasionally the hairs rather sparse); callus 0.5 mm long, subacute to acute; awn 10-35 mm long, puberulous. Pedicelled spikelet white villous, muticous.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: April-August.

Type: Italy, Burser I 119 (UPS).

Distribution: Pakistan (Baluchistan & N. W. F. P.); Mediterranean region through Arabia and the Middle East to Pakistan; East and South Africa; also, probably introduced, in Australia and Central America.