Annual. Culms solitary or tufted, erect or ascending, 50–120 cm tall, unbranched, 2–4-noded. Leaf sheaths glabrous or basal sheaths puberulous; leaf blades up to 60 cm, 4–13 mm wide, scaberulous, glabrous; ligule 3–4 mm. Panicle loose, open, pyramidal, 13–30 cm, nodding; branches coarsely scabrid. Spikelets 2–3 cm, florets 2 or 3, 2-awned; rachilla disarticulating only below lowest floret, florets falling together at maturity, only lowest floret with a bearded callus, internodes glabrous; glumes narrowly elliptic-oblong, subequal, as long as spikelet, 7–9-veined, apex finely acuminate; callus hairs up to 5 mm; lemmas 1.8–2.5 cm, leathery, hispid, finally brown in lower half, green and scabrid above, awned at about lower 1/3, apex finely 2-fid; awn 3–6 cm, fairly slender, strongly geniculate, column dark brown, pubescent. 2n = 42.
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Spikelets 3.5-6 cm, 2-3-flowered, spreading. Lemma 18-20 mm, light brown or greyish, with ± dense light brown or whitish hairs below awn insertion; awn ± slender, 25-50 mm. Anthers 2-5 mm.
An annual grass. The second lemma or outer bract of the flower does not readily separate from the main axis and the head falls as a group.
It is a temperate and Mediterranean climate plant. In Pakistan it occurs between 1,000-2,000 m altitude. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level.
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