Perennial, compactly tufted. Culms wiry, erect or decumbent at base, 20–70 cm tall, 1–2 mm in diam., unbranched, 3–4-noded. Leaf sheaths smooth, glabrous; leaf blades up to 15 cm × 1–4 mm, soft, smooth, glabrous, apex finely acute; ligule 0.5–1.5 mm, rounded. Panicle linear-oblong, spikelike, 5–10 × 0.5–0.7 cm, erect or slightly curved; branches very short. Fertile spikelet oblong or wedge-shaped, 3–6 mm, florets 2–5; glumes lanceolate, shorter than florets, 3–4.5 mm, margins membran-ous, back keeled, keel scabrid, apex acuminate or mucronate; lemmas narrowly ovate-oblong, lowest ca. 4 mm, spinescent, apex mucronate; palea slightly shorter than lemma, keels scabrid. Anthers ca. 2 mm. Caryopsis oblong, ca. 2 mm, apex glabrous. Sterile spikelet ovate, composed of up to 18 stiff, narrowly linear, shortly awned empty lemmas with green ciliate keel. Fl. and fr. Jun–Aug. 2n = 14.

This species is introduced in some temperate countries as a pasture and lawn grass and is adventive elsewhere.

Roadsides, forest margins, fields, adventive. Jiangxi (Lu Shan) [N Africa, SW Asia, Europe; introduced in North America and Australia].