HABIT	A TUFTED, ERECT, ANNUAL OR SHORT-LIVED PERENNIAL GRASS.
STEMS	0.3-1.0 M OR MORE TALL, LARGELY GLABROUS. THE ERECT AND BRANCHING STEMS, WHICH ARE SOMETIMES BENT AT THE BASE, ARE SMOOTH AND USUALLY FLATTENED. THEY ARE PURPLE OR PINK AT THE BASE, SIMPLE OR BRANCHED, 3- 5-NODED, ROOTING AT THE LOWER NODES.
LEAVES	THE LEAF BLADES ARE FLAT AND NARROW, LINEAR LANCEOLATE, 10-20 CM LONG, 2-3 MM WIDE AND USUALLY BLUISH-GREEN WITH ROUGH EDGES. THE SHEATHS ARE SMOOTH AND 2-6 CM LONG; THE LIGULE IS 0.5-1.0 MM LONG, MEMBRANEOUS AND FRINGED WITH SHORT HAIRS.
FLOWERS	A WHORL OF 5-15 DIGITATE SPIKES WHICH ARE DENSELY CLUSTERED. THE SPIKES ARE USUALLY ASCENDING, PURPLE AND 5-8 CM LONG WITH THREE-FLOWERED SPIKELETS (ONE FERTILE FLOWER). THESE ARE PURPLISH AND DENSELY OVERLAPPING, WITH THREE SLENDER AWNS.
GRAIN	PALE BROWN, TAPERING AT BOTH ENDS AND 1-2 MM LONG, ENCLOSED WITHIN THE PERSISTENT LEMMA AND PALEA.