Sp. Gram. Stip. 143 (1842)).- Type: Drège s.n., South Africa (holo- LE).
Regional litterature: FTEA: 144 (1970); FWTA: 379 (1972).
Description:
* Perennial; caespitose with spongy roots. Culms 20-60 cm long; internodes elliptical in section below nodes, distally glabrous. Leaf-blades straight or curled, involute, 10-30 cm long and 1-1.5 mm wide, glabrous, or pubescent, hairy adaxially; sheath oral hairs lacking, or bearded; ligule a fringe of hairs.
* Inflorescence a open lanceolate interrupted dense panicle of 5-20 cm long, contracted about primary branches; branches glabrous in axils. Spikelets solitary, pedicelled, clustered about short primary branches.
* Spikelets lanceolate, subterete, 6-9 mm long; callus 0.3-0.5 mm long, bearded and obtuse. Glumes similar, membranous, lanceolate, muticous or mucronate with an awn of 0-2 mm long; lower glume lanceolate, 4-7 mm long, acuminate; upper glume 6-9 mm long, dentate. Lemma elliptic, subterete, 5-6 mm long, coriaceous, scaberulous, covering most of palea, acute with a 3-branched awn; awn with a 8-23 mm long limb and a straight or slightly twisted persistent column of 1-3(-6) mm long, lateral branches 7-17 mm long.