Leaf blades 3–15 mm wide, with hairs of 2 lengths, the sparse to moderately dense, longer hairs mixed with relatively dense, minute hairs. Spikelets (1.6)1.8–2.2 mm long, 1.5–2.0 mm wide, nearly as wide as long, glabrous or hairy. Sterile floret with the lemma 2(3)‑nerved, the midnerve usually absent. May–October.

Scattered, mostly in counties adjacent to the Missouri and Mississippi River floodplains (eastern U.S. west to Minnesota and Arizona; Mexico, Central America, Caribbean Islands). Mesic to dry upland forests; also pastures, fallow fields, roadsides, and open, sandy, disturbed areas.