Annual or short-lived perennial. Culms erect to decumbent and rooting at lower nodes, 20–70 cm tall. Leaf sheaths keeled, glabrous; leaf blades usually folded, 4–40 cm, 2–3 mm wide, glabrous, apex acute; ligule 0.5–1 mm, ciliate. Racemes digitate, 4–11, erect or somewhat lax, 3–8 cm, pallid or purplish; rachis puberulous. Spikelets with 3 florets, 3-awned; lower glume 1–2 mm; upper glume 2–3 mm, obtuse, mucronate; lemma of fertile floret elliptic in side view, 2.3–3 mm, with a lateral groove, this occasionally appressed-pilose, glabrous on keel, densely ciliate on upper margins with ca. 1 mm hairs; awn (2–) 4–6 mm; upper florets sterile, lemmas empty, flattened or only slightly inflated, overlapping to form a knob at side of fertile floret; second lemma oblanceolate, truncate, 1.6–2 mm, glabrous, awn 2.5–5 mm; third lemma similar to second but slightly smaller, awn 2–3 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Oct.
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