Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Cespitose annuals 10–60 cm tall.

Stems: Culms unbranched, glabrous or papillose-pilose, the nodes pilose.

Roots: Roots fibrous.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, cauline. Blades 5-18 cm long, 0.2-0.5 cm wide, flat. Surfaces ciliate, papillose-pilose, lower surface often sparsely so, rarely puberulent or glabrous. Veins parallel. Sheaths papillose-pilose or rarely puberulent; ligule a ciliate membrane, 0.6-1.6 mm long, the membrane 0.1-0.3 mm long, the cilia 0.5-1.3 mm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Panicles 4-16 cm long, axis scabrous and pilose, branches spreading, pilose and/or scabrous; spikelets 1.5-3.9 mm long, acuminate, pilose; glumes as long as spikelet, acuminate, first glume about equaling or longer than second glume, pilose with hairs 1-3 mm long primarily in the upper 1/2 or evenly distributed, 3-5-nerved, second glume with just a few scattered hairs or glabrous, 5-nerved. First floret sterile, first lemma shorter than glumes, 5-7-nerved, glabrous, first palea 1/4-1/3 as long as first lemma; second floret blackish at maturity,1.2-1.4 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide, elliptic to lanceolate-elliptic, glossy, smooth Anthers 0.5-0.8 mm long.

Fruit: Fruit a caryopsis

Ploidy:

Habitat: Relatively uncommon in dry; open habitats.

Elevation Range: 10–930 m.