Shortly rhizomatous perennial. Culms erect, to 60 cm high; base of plant thickened and hairy. Leaves velutinous; blade flat or broadly channelled, 4–15 cm long, 3–7 mm wide, with pale, thickened, often finely undulate margins; ligule truncate, erose, mostly c. 2 mm long. Panicle c. 10–25 cm long, composed of narrow racemes; lower racemes whorled, 5–20 cm long, finally spreading, upper racemes successively shorter. Spikelets 2–3 mm long (not including the dense silky hairs which conceal most segments), mostly paired, on unequal pedicels, the longer pedicel to c. 8 mm; lower glume ovate, c. 0.5 mm long; upper glume 3-nerved, elliptic, as long as the spikelet; lower lemma 5–7-nerved, equal to upper glume, both villous; lower palea vestigial or absent; upper (bisexual) floret subequal to spikelet, lemma elliptic, shortly acuminate, slightly rounded dorsally, smooth or finely striate Flowers Feb.–Apr.
LoM, MuM, Wim, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF, Gold. All mainland states except ACT. Rare, scattered through northern and north-western Victoria, chiefly along the Murray River floodplain (e.g. Barmah, Lake Powell near Robinvale, Mildura area), a record from Warracknabeal (Willis 1970) is not substantiated by a specimen at MEL.
