Robust annual; ligule membranous; blades large and soft; panicle erect, to 6 dm, the staminate branches widely spreading, the pistillate at first erect, at anthesis ascending; staminate spikelets pendulous, 6–11 mm, stramineous to purplish, glabrous or nearly so, the lemma awnless or with an awn to 3 mm; pistillate spikelets linear, with an awn to 7 cm, the lemma thin and membranous, minutely scabrous all over, the exposed surface of the palea likewise roughened; some spikelets in the pistillate part of the infl sterile and abortive, the lemma subulate, less than 1.5 mm wide, often twisted, tapering insensibly into the awn; 2n=30. S. Que. and coastal states from Me. to Fla. and La., irregularly inland in n. N.Y. and from w. Lake Erie to Wis. and s. Ill. The widespread var. aquatica, southern w. r., is robust, (1)2–3(–5) m, with lvs mostly 2.5–5(–8) cm wide, the infl 2.5–6 dm, its pistillate lemmas with an awn mostly 2–7 cm. The var. brevis Fassett, estuarine w. r., occurring along the St. Lawrence estuary in Que., is smaller, to 1 m, with lvs to 1.5 cm wide and small, few-branched infls 1–2.5 dm, the pistillate lemmas with an awn under 1.5 cm.
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A millet grass. It is a tall annual grass. The stems are upright and usually 1-3 m tall. They are stout. The leaf blades are long and narrow. They can be 0.3-1 m long and 2-5 cm wide. They are soft. They have many flowers in open branched clusters. These can be 60 cm high and the side branches 15-20 cm long. The lower branches have male flowers and the upper branches have female flowers. The seed case is tipped with a long stiff hair like structure. The seeds are narrow, hard and brown. Seeds often easily fall off the grass.
The grains are cooked like rice in water for 25-40 minutes then eaten. The grain can be ground and used in cereal dishes. It can also be used for breads, muffins, cakes, pasta and for thickening soups. It can be popped and eaten with maple syrup.
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