Robust, sparsely to densely hispid annual; culms 30-150 cm high, often branching. Leaf-blades linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1540 cm long, 8-24 mm wide, cordate to amplexicaul. Panicle narrowly oblong to pyramidal, 15-35 cm long, the branching tight or sometimes lax and giving the panicle a one-sided appearance. Spikelets mostly towards the ends of the branches, ovate to ovate-oblong, (4-)4.5-5.5 mm long, glabrous, acute to shortly acuminate; lower glume ovate, half to three-quarters the length of the spikelet, 5-nerved, acuminate, separated from the rest of the spikelet by a short internode; upper glume 11-13-nerved; lower lemma 11-13-nerved, its palea absent or reduced to a very short scale; upper lemma orange or yellowish, smooth and shining, usually persistent.

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

Type: India (LINN).

Distribution: Pakistan (Sind, Punjab, N.W.F.P., Gilgit & Kashmir; mostly in cultivation); India; introduced to parts of Africa, Europe, North and South America, Australia, Central and Eastern Asia.

Common, Hog or Broomcorn Millet is widely cultivated as a hot weather crop in the rainy season. It is unlikely that it exists as a truly wild species as most records are from cultivated land or ruderal sites. It is thought to have originated as a crop plant in northern India but is now widely naturalised in warm temperate regions.