Annual; culms up to 30 cm high, geniculately ascending. Leaf-blades up to 6 cm long and 5 mm wide. Inflorescence composed of 2-3 subdigitate racemes; racemes up to 5 cm long, the spikelets ternate on a ribbon-like winged rhachis with triquetrous midrib; pedicels ± terete, scabrid, with cupuliform tip. Spikelets elliptic, 1.8-2 mm long; lower glume 0; upper glume about four-fifths as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved, the nerves anastomosing below the apex, glabrous; lower lemma as long as the spikelet, 5-nerved, the middle 3 nerves close together and parallel, the outer pair marginal, glabrous; fruit ellipsoid, dark purple-brown at maturity.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: August-September.

Type: Kashmir, Stewart 21047 (K).

Distribution: Kashmir, endemic.

This is very similar to Digitaria ischaemum, Digitaria longiflora and Digitaria violascens in having ternate spikelets, but the spikelets are quite glabrous. It seems to be related to Digitaria violascens in much the same way as Digitaria fuscescens is to Digitaria longiflora in that it lacks hair on the spikelets, but the delicate, translucent upper glume with a broad blunt tip distinguishes it better from Digitaria violascens than the simple hairy versus glabrous distinction drawn between Digitaria longiflora and Digitaria fuscescens. Digitaria stewartiana is known only from three collections from Kashmir.