A caespitose annual or biennial. Culms 30-80(100) cm. tall, 2-5-noded, sometimes solitary, simple or branched below, erect or geniculately ascending, smooth or scaberulous beneath the inflorescence. Leaf-sheaths prominently striate, dorsally rounded, tight at first, later somewhat loose, smooth or more rarely scaberulous, glabrous. Ligule 1-2 mm. long, membranous. Leaf-laminae 6-25 x 0·4-1 cm., linear, tapering to a fine soft point, with narrow auricles at the base, involute in young shoots, smooth and glossy on the lower and often scaberulous on the upper surface. Spikes 10-30 cm. long, erect or sometimes nodding, rather compressed, often tinged with purple; rhachis usually scabrous. Spikelets 7·5-25 mm. long, 5-15-flowered, elliptic-oblong to obovate-oblong in lateral view, glabrous. Superior glume much shorter than the spikelet, 4-7-nerved, narrowly oblong or lanceolate-oblong, obtuse to acute. Lemmas 5-8 mm. long, 5-nerved, awned, imbricate, oblong to lanceolate-oblong, with the apex obtuse and 2-dentate; awn up to 10 mm. long, straight, slender. Paleas scaberulous along the keels. Anthers 3-4·5 mm. long. Caryopsis 3-3·5 mm. long.
