Annual; culms tufted, erect or geniculately ascending, 10-90 cm high, glabrous and smooth. Leaf-blades up to 25 cm long, 3 mm broad, scaberulous on both sides or smooth beneath, glabrous or pilose towards the base. Spikes 1-4, 3-20 cm long, straight or slightly flexuous, pale, slender, the rhachis 0.4-0.6 mm wide. Spikelets 3-5 mm long, 1-flowered; glumes shortly aristate, the lower 2.54.5 mm long, the upper 3-5 mm long; lemma 2-2.5 mm long, with a scaberulous awn 2-4 cm long.