Japan Flora: Perennial with short rhizomes and ascend­ing innovation shoots; culms 80-120 cm. long, glabrous, smooth; leaf-blades flat, green, 20-30 cm. long, 5-12 mm. wide, scabrous, sometimes pilose above; sheaths often retrorsely scabrous; ligules 2-3 mm. long, truncate, brownish; panicles loose, open, nodding, pale green and sometimes slightly purple- tinged, the branches 2- or 3-nate, scabrous; spikelets 5-7 mm. long, 4- or 5-flowered; glumes unequal, lanceolate, 1- to 3-nerved, the lower about 3 mm., the upper 4.5-5 mm. long; lemmas lanceolate, 5-6 mm. long, scaberulous; awn terminal or between 2 minute teeth, slender, flexuous, 4-7 mm. long; anthers 1 mm. long; caryopsis puberulent at apex.  June-Aug. Mountain woods.

Hokkaido, Honshu (centr. distr. and northw.); rather common. e. Siberia, n. China, and Korea.