Perennial, tufted, robust, and erect aromatic grass reaching up to 1 m in height. Leaves are narrow, filiform to flat, slightly twisted, up to 35 cm long and 1–4 mm wide, with a triangular, membranous ligule and an attenuate base. When crushed, the green leaves and stems emit a mild lemony scent. The inflorescence is a loose, open false panicle, consisting of pairs of widely spaced, spikelet-like clusters arranged in a distinctive V-shape, emerging from the axils of spathe-like sheaths. The lowermost pedicel is swollen and barrel-shaped, with racemes typically deflexed at maturity and borne on subequal, flattened raceme-bases. Spikes are densely woolly, with hairs measuring 2–4 mm in length. At maturity, each fertile spikelet detaches along with a segment of the rachis beneath it, which is enclosed in long, bristly hairs that aid in wind dispersal.