Perennial, shortly rhizomatous. Culms erect from ascending base, 50–100 cm tall, 2–2.5 mm in diam., glabrous, 4–7-noded. Leaf sheaths closed up to middle or more, basal sheaths longer than internodes, upper shorter, glabrous, sometimes ciliate at margin and mouth; leaf blades soft, 15–30 cm, 5–8 mm wide, smooth or scabrid; ligule brown, ca. 1 mm. Panicle lax, lanceolate-oblong in outline, ca. 15 cm, much branched with many spikelets, silvery brown or purplish; branches whorled, smooth, up to 5 cm. Spikelets 4.5–5.5 mm, florets 1 or 2; glumes unequal, lower glume 2.5–3 mm, upper glume 4–4.5 mm; rachilla hairs ca. 1.5 mm; lemmas 4.5–5 mm, scabrid-papillose, awned from upper 1/3, apex subentire; awn 3–4 mm, recurved and slightly twisted near base; palea keels scaberulous. Anthers ca. 2.5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Aug.

This is a little-known variant close to Trisetum sibiricum and perhaps does not merit specific rank. It has small spikelets like those of T. umbratile, but with recurved awns, and occurs outside the known distribution of that taxon.

* Moist shady places in valleys, woodland margins on mountainsides; 1600–2100 m. Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan.