Stipa pelliotii Danguy in Lecomte, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 2: 167. 1912.

Perennial, densely tufted from a short rhizome, old basal sheaths persistent. Culms 20–50 cm tall, 1–2 mm in diam., 2–3-noded. Leaf blades gray-green, fairly rigid, setaceous, (3–)6–10 cm, abaxial surface scabrid; ligule truncate, ca. 1 mm, margin ciliate. Panicle lax, up to 10 × 3–4 cm; branches usually paired, capillary, 2.5–4 cm, lower part bare. Spikelets yellowish; glumes lanceolate, 5–6 mm, 3-veined with lateral veins short, membranous, smooth, apex sharply acuminate; lemma 3–4 mm, 3-veined, veins convergent at apex, evenly pubescent throughout, apex minutely 2-toothed; awn 2–3 cm, strongly curved near base, column short, twisted, plumose; palea subequal to lemma, 1-veined. Anthers ca. 2.5 mm, apex glabrous. Fl. and fr. Aug–Oct.

Desert plains, rocky slopes, on rocks and gravel; 1100–3500 m. Gansu, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang [Mongolia (Gobi Desert)].