Ascending annual, often decumbent below and rooting at the nodes; culms weak, 15-100 cm high. Leaf-blades broadly linear, 5-20 cm long, 2-10 mm wide, flaccid, not or indistinctly scabrid, but often with tubercle-based bristles along the main nerves. Panicle contracted, 3-12 cm long, narrowly lanceolate, branched at least below, the rhachis scaberulous to puberulous; bristles 3-10 mm long, stiff, obscurely scaberulous. Spikelets broadly elliptic, 1.5-2 mm long; lower glume obtuse or acute, one-third to half as long as the spikelet; upper glume half to two-thirds the length of the spikelet; lower floret barren, its palea almost as long as the lemma; upper lemma rugose, pallid to golden.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: September.

Type: India, Heyne..

Distribution: Pakistan (Sind & Punjab); India, Burma and Sri Lanka; introduced to tropical Africa.