Tufts of scabrid very fine leaves overtopped by darkly coloured narrow inflorescences with many spikelets of awnless florets. Caespitose or shortly stoloniferous; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath 1-5 cm, » wider than leaf-blade, keeled, striate, open to base, glabrous or occasionally with scattered fine hairs; apical auricles c. 0.1 mm, finely ciliate. Collar thickened. Ligule 0.2-0.2 mm. Leaf-blade to 20 cm × 0.3-0.5 mm, elliptical to laterally compressed, capillary, abaxially scattered fine antrorse prickle-teeth, adaxially finely hairy; TS: 5-7 vascular bundles, 1 rib, sclerenchyma continuous. Culm to 30 cm, often a single internode, densely finely hairy or becoming glabrous, sometimes purpled. Panicle 2-4-8 cm, very narrow, of 10-12-14-(20) nodes, (10)-60 spikelets much overlapping; branches solitary, short, mostly appressed to rachis, scarcely naked below; basal branch 1.5-3 cm of 10-20 spikelets, uppermost 6-10 spikelets solitary on short pedicels; rachis prickled on angles below becoming dense above, branches and pedicels densely so. Spikelets 4-7 mm, 3-6 florets, widely opened at anthesis, sometimes bright violet. Glumes unequal, reflexed at anthesis, keeled, prickle-toothed above, margins shortly ciliate; lower 1.0-1.75 mm, 1-nerved, keeled, upper 1.75-2.5 mm, 3 evident or raised nerves, ± obtuse. Lemma 2.5-3 mm, 5-nerved, lobes minute or 0, rounded below, prickle-teeth above on midnerve and below on lateral nerves, margins ciliate below; awn 0, mucro, or 0.1-0.2-0.5 mm; golden to purple especially above. Palea 2.5-3 mm, ≥ lemma, broad, apex narrowed and bifid, keels toothed in upper ⅓, interkeel with some few hairs at apex. Rachilla 0.4-0.5 mm, short hairy. Callus 0.1-0.15 mm, shortly bearded laterally; articulation ± oblique. Lodicules 0.3-0.5 mm, entire or lobed. Anthers 1.4-1.8 mm, yellow or purple-suffused, or purple. Gynoecium: ovary 0.5-0.7 mm, glabrous; stigma-styles 1.0-1.25 mm. Caryopsis 1.4-1.75 mm, sulcate, free; embryo c. 0.3 mm; hilum linear.
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Lvs mostly more than half as long as the stems, scabrous, delicately wiry-capillary, 0.3–0.6 mm wide, with 3 large and 0–4 small veins but only one distinct rib, the sclerenchyma forming a ± continuous ring; infl very slender; spikelets small, the first glume 1.1–2.1 mm, the second 1.8–3 mm, the lemmas mostly 2.3–4 mm and awnless; anthers 1.5–2.5 mm; 2n=14, 28; otherwise much like spp. 8–10. A European weed intr. into lawns and waste places from Nf. to N.C., Ill., and Minn. (F. tenuifolia; F. capillata; F. ovina var. c.)
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