Plant: Dioecious, stoloniferous, perennial grass < 25 cm; staminate inflorescence a contracted panicle; spikelets 2-3 cm long, 5 to 10-flowered, glumes and lemmas awnless; pistillate spikelets 3 to 5-flowered, lemmas narrow, rounded on back, 3-nerved, the nerves extended into twisted, scabrous awns 6-10 cm long.