Annual plants 32–62 cm high. Culms branched, fastigiate, glabrous; nodes glabrous. Leaves sparsely or densely pilose with prickly tubercle-based hairs or mostly glabrous and smooth; sheaths much shorter than culm internodes; blade 1.4–8 cm long, 2–4 mm wide, glabrous on upper surface, prickly pilose on lower surface and margins. Panicles finally open, 4–5 cm long and 1 cm wide (when contracted), 6–10.5 cm long and 60–80 mm wide (when open), with prominent bearded pulvini; axis, branches and pedicels with scattered prominently thickened callus-like long-bearded nodes. Glumes subequal or the lower glume 0.5–1.3 mm shorter than upper glume, (2.8–) 4–5 (–6) mm long, muticous or rarely cuspidulate, 5 (7–9)-nerved, smooth, glabrous or sometimes pilose with simple hairs. Florets slightly shorter than or equal to upper glume, exceeding lower glume, slightly unequal. Callus entirely bearded. Lemma 4–5.3 mm long, acute, muticous, membranous, 5-nerved, without grooves, hirsute in lower 1/2–2/3 with simple hairs, glabrous and smooth above, ciliate on margins for the entire length. Palea entire, muticous, bearded at base and usually also sparsely or densely hirsute on back in lower 1/2–2/3, otherwise glabrous and smooth. Caryopsis 1.4–2 mm long.
Occurs insandstone plateaux, undulating volcanic country, basalt outcrops and lateriticflats, and usually sandy, moist or seasonally wet sites in or near streams, indepressions and sometimes on disturbed ground.
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