It is a perennial herb that produces dense masses of many narrow erect stems that reach a size of 1 to 3 meters in height. It grows from a long rhizome system. The leaves are mostly basal and have broad sheaths around the stems. The inflorescence is generally a panicle of spikelets on long, slender, arching branches. The spikelets vary in color. Usually long, with a bract next to each spikelet or group of spikelets.