Annual with fibrous roots. Stems slender, tufted, compressed, obtusangular, glabrous and smooth, 20-50 cm by ½-1 mm. Leaves half as long as the stems, sometimes slightly falcate, rather firm, flat, obtuse to rather acute, glabrous, scabrid on the margins in the upper part, greyish green, 1-2 mm wide; ligule a fringe of short, white hairs (see Note). Inflorescence simple or subcompound, loose, with few to several spikelets, 2-7 cm long. Involucral bracts 1-2, suberect, the lowest somewhat shorter than to twice as long as the inflorescence, up to 12 cm. Primary rays few, suberect, compressed, smooth, up to 5 cm. Spikelets solitary, ovoid to oblong-ovoid, terete, acutish, densely many-flowered, whitish or greyish green, often brownish variegated, 5-7 (ultimately up to 10) by c. 2½ mm; rachilla narrowly winged. Glumes spiral, subchartaceous, glabrous, appressed, broadly ovate, obtuse, muticous or scarcely apiculate, not keeled, with greenish, 3-nerved keel and nerveless sides brownish except for the whitish basal part and margins, c. 2 mm long and wide. Stamen 1; anther oblong, c. ½ mm. Style slender, flat, slightly dilated at the base, ciliate in the upper ½-¾ c. 1 mm; stigmas 2, shorter than the style. Nut biconvex, obovate, shortly stipitate, umbonulate, scaly-verruculose, obsoletely reticulate by the transversely elliptic or oblong, not impressed epidermal cells in 10-16 vertical rows on either face, stramineous, 1-1¼ by ¾-9/10 mm.
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Differing from F. dichotoma in the more rigid habit, the fewer spikelets, the smaller glumes marked with dark chestnut brown and the very characteristic suborbicular achene having few to several vertical rows of cells lacking the raised ribs, but with a thick tuberculate rim and scattered tubercules on the sides
Slender narrow-leaved annual
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