Culms 2–4 m, 0.5–1.5 cm in diam.; internodes initially green, yellow-green when old, 21–31 cm, weakly glaucous, distinctly powdery below node, glabrous; supra-nodal ridge more prominent than persistent sheath base; intranode 5–8 mm. Branches (1 or)3 per node. Culm sheaths light green, sometimes brown spotted, glabrous or sparsely setose, setae light brown and readily deciduous, margins ciliolate; auricles absent; oral setae few, readily deciduous; ligule arcuate, truncate, or acute, 1.5–4 mm, glaucous; blade reflexed or erect, triangular-lanceolate or narrowly linear-lanceolate, entire. Leaves 2–4 per ultimate branch; sheath glabrous, margins ciliolate; auricles elliptic or falcate; oral setae radiate; blade elliptic-lanceolate, 7–14 × 1.2–2.2 cm, abaxially proximally slightly hairy, scabrid, secondary veins 5–9-paired, one margin distally serrulate, other margin entire. Inflorescence racemose, terminal. Spikelets 1 or 2, 3–5 cm; florets 5–7, terminal one sterile; rachilla internodes ca. 6 mm, shortly hairy. Glumes 2; lemma ovate; palea navicular, apex obtuse or 2-cleft, keels ciliolate; lodicules 3, nearly equal. Stamens 3. Ovary densely hairy; style 1; stigmas 3. Caryopsis oblong, 9–13 × 3–4 mm. New shoots early Jun, fl. May.

Pleioblastus intermedius, P. maculosoides, Pseudosasa longi-ligula, and P. wuyiensis are all possibly synonyms of this species.

* Slopes, roadsides. S Henan, S Zhejiang.