Annual, over 2 1/2 ft. high. Culms slender, terete, glabrous, very smooth, few-noded, simple or branched from the lower nodes (Hackel). Leaf-sheaths terete, glabrous, smooth, closely striate, nodes quite glabrous; ligules oblong-obtuse, scarious, over 1 lin. long; blades narrowly linear, tapering to a fine point, 6 to 8 in. by 1–1 1/2 lin., slightly rigid, flat, glabrous, smooth or the margins scaberulous upwards; midrib very slender, lateral nerves numerous, very fine and close, the primary hardly distinct. Racemes 6–15, sessile, subdigitate or racemosely arranged on a slender angular common rhachis (up to 2 in. long), very slender, erect or suberect, 3–6 in. long, somewhat loose; rhachis filiform, 1/7– 1/5 lin. wide, triquetrous, almost straight, angles very finely marginate, internodes 1 1/2–2 lin. long; pedicels 2-nate, finely filiform, angular, scaberulous, very unequal, the longer up to over 1 lin. long. Spikelets loosely subappressed, not or only slightly imbricate, lanceolate-oblong, acute, 4/5– 9/10 lin. by 2/5 lin., pale green or brownish, apparently glabrous. Lower glume a very minute delicately hyaline scale, soon disappearing; upper oblong-lanceolate, equalling the spikelet, finely 5-nerved, with 4 very fine lines of appressed hairs (2 in the innermost spaces on both sides of the middle-nerve and 2 marginal), hairs extremely fine, straight or the obtuse tips curled, 1/7– 1/6 lin. long. Lower floret: valve in shape and size corresponding to the spikelet, very thin, 7-nerved, nerves fine but prominent, with very fine lines of appressed hairs between the 2 inner lateral nerves of each half and along the margins, hairs as in the upper glume; valvule and lodicules very minute. Upper floret lanceolate, acute, as long as the spikelet, pale to slate-colour, thinly chartaceous, margins of valve not meeting. Anthers 2/5 lin. long.
