Annual (sometimes becoming perennial ?), tufted, from less than 1 ft. to over 2 ft. high. Culms geniculately ascending or erect, moderately slender to rather stout, 4–6- (rarely more-) noded, branched from the lower and frequently also from the intermediate nodes, glabrous. Leafsheaths often somewhat loose, subherbaceous, finely striate, smooth, quite glabrous except at the usually delicately pubescent nodes, very rarely with a few minute hairs; ligules reduced to a line of cilia; blades linear, from 2–6 (rarely more) in. by 2–4 (rarely 5) lin., slightly succulent and rigid, quite glabrous, very smooth, midrib very slender, lateral nerves very fine, numerous and close, the primary usually hardly differentiated. Panicle flaccid, narrow or more or less open, but always secund, 3–6 in. long (rarely under 3 in.), of usually numerous suberect or obliquely spreading flexuous or drooping distant racemes; common axis slender, subterete, channelled, striate, smooth and glabrous except at the scaberulous edges of the channel; racemes peduncled (the lowest with the peduncles up to over 1 in. long), or the uppermost subsessile, usually simple or in robust specimens more or less compound downwards with short secondary racemes, 1 1/2– 1/2 in. long; rhachis flat on the back 3/20– 1/4 lin. wide, with a slender acute projecting midrib on the face (hence more or less triquetrous in cross section), scaberulous all over; pedicels 2-nate or solitary, the longer of a pair up to 3/4 or almost 1 lin. long, slender, finely scaberulous, occasionally with a very few fine hairs from the upper part, tips subdiscoid. Spikelets 2-seriate, laterally contiguous, oblong, acute, mostly 1 1/2 lin. long, rarely less, rarely longer, pale green; basal bead-like internode pale or one half blackish-purple, up to 1/6 lin. in diam. Lower glume reduced to a narrow membranous cupular rim around the bead; upper very faintly 5-nerved, finely and appressedly and often scantily silky, very acute or minutely mucronate, but without an awnlet. Lower floret reduced to an empty valve, equalling and very similar to the upper glume. Upper floret finely punctate, 1 lin. long; valve with a mucro 3/20– 1/5 lin. long. Anthers 1/2 lin. long.
