Anthistiria anathera Nees ex Steudel, Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1: 402. 1854; Androscepia anathera (Nees ex Steudel) Andersson; A. anathera var. glabrescens Andersson; A. anathera var. hir-suta Andersson; Themeda anathera var. glabrescens (Andersson) Hackel; T. anathera var. hirsuta (Andersson) Hackel.

Perennial, with rhizomes. Culms densely tufted, slender, erect or ascending, 30–120 cm tall. Leaf sheaths glabrous or loosely hairy; leaf blades narrow, 4–20 × 0.2–0.4 cm, scabrid, setose with scattered, long, tubercle-based hairs, apex filiform; ligule ca. 2 mm, margin ciliate. Compound panicle loose, open, branches ascending, bearing up to 5 small spathate racemes; spatheoles linear, 1–2 cm, glabrous; peduncle glabrous. Raceme composed of 1–3 spikelet pairs and a terminal triad above the involucre of 2 homogamous pairs. Homogamous spikelets arising at different levels, male or barren, 5–8 mm, lanceolate, sparsely to densely setose with tubercle-based bristles or sometimes glabrous. Sessile spikelet 5–7 mm; callus ca. 1 mm, obtuse; lower glume firmly herbaceous to subleathery, lightly dorsally compressed, puberulous or subglabrous to tuberculate-hairy; upper lemma narrowly lanceolate, awnless (rarely with reduced ca. 1 cm awn). Pedicelled spikelet 6–8 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug–Oct.

This is a slender, Himalayan species similar to Themeda hookeri, but with a more western distribution. It has a more densely tufted habit than T. hookeri and can easily be distinguished by its more numerous, awnless, usually setose racemes of smaller spikelets.

Mountain slopes, usually in forests; 1500–3000 m. Xizang [Afghanistan, N India, Nepal, Pakistan].