Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Cespitose annuals; 8–90 cm tall.

Stems: Culms unbranched or branched, villous or velvety puberulent, the nodes villous.

Roots: Roots fibrous.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, cauline. Blades 4-29 cm long, 0.2-1.5 cm wide, flat, villous or velvety puberulent. Veins parallel. Sheaths villous or velvety puberulent; ligule a ciliate membrane, 0.7-2 mm long, the membrane 0.1-0.7 mm long, the cilia 0.6-1.4 mm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Panicles 3-23 cm long, axis villous, branches ascending, villous; spikelets 1.9-5.1 mm long, acuminate, villous; glumes villous with hairs 1-3 mm long, apex often curved outward, first glume as long as spikelets, acuminate or rarely acute, 5-7-nerved, second glume shorter than first glume, acute to acuminate, 5-9-nerved. First floret sterile, first lemma shorter than second glume, glabrous to villous, 7-nerved, first palea 1/4-1/2 as long as first lemma; second floret dark brown with white nerves at maturity, 1.2-2 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide, elliptic, smooth, glossy; anthers 0.7-1.2 mm long.

Fruit: Fruit a caryopsis

Ploidy: 2n = 18

Habitat: Common in arid; open; often weedy coastal flats.

Elevation Range: 0–500 m.