Rather lax, perennial tufts, 9–35 cm; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath firmly membranous, inconspicuously ribbed, glabrous, light green to dull brown. Ligule 1–2.5 mm, truncate, erose or denticulate, abaxially sparsely, finely scabrid. Leaf-blade 3–10–(15) cm × 1–2 mm, flat or folded, abaxially smooth, adaxially sparsely, finely scabrid on ribs; margins minutely, sparsely scabrid, tip obtuse. Culm 4–20 cm, often included within uppermost leaf-sheath, internodes finely scabrid below nodes and below panicle. Panicle 3–14 × 1.5–8 cm, rather contracted at first, later lax; rachis finely scabrid, branches filiform, finely scabrid, tipped by rather few spikelets. Spikelets (2.5)–3–3.5–(4) mm, pale green or tinged faint purple. Glumes ± equal, elliptic-lanceolate, midnerve and margins scabrid in upper ¼, occasionally in upper ½ or ⅔. Lemma 2–2.5 mm, c. ¾ length of glumes, with scattered soft hairs, very rarely glabrous, ovate-oblong, truncate, lateral nerves not, or scarcely, excurrent, midnerve produced to a mucro, or sometimes a straight subapical awn, to 2.5 mm. Palea ½-⅔ length of lemma, apex shallowly bifid, keels c. 0.3 mm apart, very faint. Callus hairs conspicuous, to 1 mm, to ½ length of lemma. Rachilla prolongation c. 0.2 mm, tipped by hairs to c. 0.8 mm. Lodicules 0.5–0.8 mm, lanceolate, acute. Anthers 0.7–1.3 mm. Caryopsis 1.2–1.8 × 0.5–0.6 mm.
[From: Edgar and Connor (2000) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 5 (second printing).]