Japan Flora: Densely tufted, glabrous perennid without stolons; culms slender, 15-70 cm. long; leaf-blades folded to rather flat, 5-15 cm. long, 1-3 mm. wide, acute, strongly nerved above, acute; ligules 3-7 mm. long, hyaline; panicles erect or nodding, 5-20 cm. long, the branches spreading to ascending, somewhat scabrous; spikelets 2- to 3-flowered, 5-7 mm. long, lustrous; glumes lanceolate, acuminate or acute, nearly smooth, membranous, the first 2.5-3 mm. long, 1-nerved, slightly shorter than the lemma, the second 3-nerved, 3-4.5 mm. long; lemmas 35-4.5 mm. long, obscurely 5-nerved, truncate and 4-toothed at apex, the awn exserted about the middle of the lemma, nearly erect, slightly or scarcely exserted, 2-4 mm. long; callus-hairs 2/5-1/4 as long as the Iemma; anthers 1.5-2.5(-3) mm. long. ---- July-Aug. High mountains.

Hokkaido, Honshu (centr. variety differs from the typical phase of Eurasia and N. America in the shorter culms, more scabrous panicle­branches, and slightly larger spikelets, but numerous inter­mediates are known.

var. levis (Takeda) Ohwi. Woodland form with taller slender culms, nodding panicles and linear-lanceo­late second glume not exceeded by the tips of the florets.  Reported from Mount Yubari in Hokkaido.

Var. macrothyrsa Ohwi & Tatew. Distinct phase of moist ground, taller, with culms about 1 m. long, with larger and more effuse panicles about 30 cm. long, the second glumes linear-lanceolate, the florets not longer than the tip of the glumes. Lowlands near Nemuro in Hokkaido.