Japan Flora: Low, smooth perennial with short ascending innovation­shoots; culms loosely tufted, 10-25 cm. long, rather stout, erect from ascending base; leaf-blades rather thick and soft, flat or with slightly involute margins, 4-6 cm. long in the cauline, slightly longer in the radical, 4-5 nun. wide, glaucous above; ligules 2-4 mm. long, semirounded; panicles broadly ovate, open, erect or slightly nodding, 5-7 cm. long, the branches geminate, smooth, spreading, rather thick; spikelets short- pedicclled, 6-8 mm. long, 2- to 4-flowered, purplish, rarely pale green; glumes slightly unequal, acuminate, with very short lateral nerves, the lower 3-4 mm., the upper 4-5 mm. long; lemmas broadly lanceolate, 5-6 mm. long, very acute, weakly 3-nerved, sometimes pubescent below, the midrib and mar­ginal nerves pubescent on the lower half, the web rather short; anthers 1.5-2 mm. long. July-Aug. Grassy slopes and on rocks in alpine regions.

Honshu (centr. distr.), n. Korea. Some plants have viviparous spikelets. The typical phase occurs in Kamchatka and n. Kuriles.