Perennial, tufted with stout scaly rhizomes; old basal sheaths often pale purplish within. Culms 60–80 cm tall, 2–3-noded. Leaf sheaths slightly scabrid, lower longer and upper shorter than internodes; leaf blades 10–40 × 0.4–0.5 cm (when flattened), abaxial surface scaberulous-puberulous; ligule ca. 2 mm. Panicle contracted or open, 10–30 × 2–10 cm; branches 2–12 cm, scabrid, lower part bare, upper part densely spiculate. Spikelets purplish brown or green tinged purple; glumes oblong-lanceolate, subequal or upper slightly longer, 8–11 mm, 3-veined, scabrid, apex acuminate; lemma 5-veined, villous, hairs 2–4 mm, split to shortly above middle, lobes (1–)2–3.2 mm, acuminate into stiff 0.5–1 mm awnlets; awn stout, stiff, 1.2–1.5 cm, stiff, stout, scabrous, recurved to weakly 1-geniculate, loosely or sometimes only obscurely twisted below bend. Lodicules 1.5–2 mm. Anthers 4.5–5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sep.

Streams, valleys; 3600–4400 m. Qinghai, Xizang [Kashmir, N Pakistan].