Habit: 		Annuals, branching from the base.
Culms: 		Tufted, 20-60 cm. tall, erect or widely spreading, from a decumbent base, slender,
		freely branching, exposed internodes often rough, nodes often reddish,
		flattened on each side next to the blade.
Blades: 	Upper 6-25 mm. long, lower elongate, 2 mm. wide or less, involute toward the tip,
		upper surface scabrous near the base, sometimes papillose-pilose on the margins and
		lower surface towards the base.
Sheaths: 	Much shorter than the internodes, wider than the blade, smooth to slightly rough,
		sometimes papillose-pilose and pilose at the throat with hairs 3-4 mm. long.
Ligule: 	A ring of minute hairs.
Inflorescence: 	Panicles numerous, spikelike, usually not more than 3 cm. long, wholly or
		partly included in the inflated sheaths, or the terminal panicle exserted,
		late in the season the sheaths swollen and containing cleistogamous spikelets.
Spikelets: 	3.5-4.5 mm. long, 1-flowered, on short scabrous pedicels, those of the
		terminal panicle often larger than those of the branches, awnless, rachilla
		disarticulating above the glumes.
Glumes: 	The first shorter than the second, subequal, acute, 3-5 mm. long,
		nearly as long as the lemma.
Lemmas: 	Usually longer than the second glume, 1-nerved, acuminate, scabrous,
		minutely appressed-pubescent, sometimes mottled with dark spots.
Palea: 		Acuminate, sometimes longer than the lemma, minutely pubescent,
		especially towards the apex.
Fruit: 		Grain free from the lemma and readily dropping off, pericarp loosely
		enclosing the seed, thin and evanescent.
Habitat: 	Sterile fields and open waste places.  August-September.
Synonyms:	Sporobolus vaginiflorus (Torr. ex Gray) Wood var. inaequalis Fern.