annual; culms tufted, geniculate, simple or branched below, up to 1 1/2 ft. long, delicate, glabrous or minutely and reversedly hairy, 2–3-noded; sheaths rather tight or loose, the lower finally slipping from the culms, glabrous or hairy; ligules truncate, short; blades linear, tapering to a fine point, 1–4 1/2 in. by 1–3 1/2 lin., flat, flaccid, scaberulous, minutely hairy or glabrescent; panicle narrow, 1–6 in. long, subsecund, loose; rhachis filiform, glabrous; branches in distant semi-whorls, spreading, very unequal, up to 2 in. long, simple or sparingly branched, capillary, flexuous, minutely scaberulous; pedicels of very variable length, up to 6 lin.; spikelets often nodding, 1–1 1/2 lin. long, light green or purplish; glumes lanceolate, acuminate, 3-nerved, glabrous or somewhat pilose, the lower 3/4 lin., the upper 1 lin. long; empty valves narrowly oblong or obovate-oblong, subacuminate, 5-nerved, transversely rugose, scaberulous, beardless, the upper slightly longer and with 2 semicircular shield-shaped appendages at the base; fertile valve equalling the upper glume, elliptic-oblong, minutely truncate or subacute, scaberulous above, 5-nerved; lodicules glabrous; stamens 3; anthers 1/6 lin. long; stigmas brush-like. null
