Culms 5–7 m tall, 2–3 cm in diam.; internodes terete, 16–20 cm, grooved above branches; nodes with weakly prominent ridges, basal nodes each with a ring of root thorns. Culm sheaths deciduous, shorter than internodes, thickly papery or thinly leathery, adnately brown setose, densely so at base, margins with dense cilia 2–2.5 mm; ligule minute, ca. 1 mm; blade subulate-lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, 7–13 mm. Leaves 1 per ultimate branch; blade oblong-lanceolate, ca. 16 × 1.5–2 cm, papery, secondary veins 4- or 5-paired, transverse veins distinct, base narrowly cuneate, apex acuminate. Inflorescence paniculate. Pseudospikelets 1(–3) per node, 10–12 cm, prophyll followed by 1 or 2 empty bracts, then 4 or 5, gradually enlarged bracts subtending secondary pseudospikelets or buds; florets 8 or 9. Glumes absent or 1; rachilla internodes 1–1.4 cm, slender; lemma ovate-triangular, papery, 7–9-veined, apex mucronate; palea subequal with lemma, thinly papery, veins indistinct, apex retuse. Ovary ovoid-ellipsoid; style short; stigmas 2. Caryopsis reniform or ellipsoid, 10–12 × 3–5 mm in diam., with persistent, beaklike style base, pericarp ca. 0.5 mm thick.

* 700–1200 m. Guizhou, Jiangsu, Sichuan.