Annual. Culms slender, erect or geniculately ascending, 20–40 cm tall, sparsely hairy. Leaf sheaths pubescent; leaf blades flat, 10–15 cm × ca. 3 mm, both surfaces pubescent, margins scabrid; ligule ca. 2 mm. Panicle ovate in outline, lax, 4–10 × 3–5 cm; branches whorled, 4–8 per node, 2–6 cm, glabrous, each bearing 1–4 spikelets. Spikelets broadly elliptic, 5–8 mm, florets 3–6; internodes exposed; lower glume lanceolate, 3–4 mm, 1-veined, upper glume narrowly ovate, 4–5 mm, 3-veined, margins membranous, apex acuminate; lemmas oblanceolate, 3.5–4.5 mm, 5–7-veined, margins strongly inrolled and sparsely ciliolate, apex minutely 2-toothed, awned from sinus; awn 15–20 mm, slender, straight; palea subequal to lemma, keels ciliolate. Anthers 0.3–0.5 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun–Aug. 2n = 14.