Bearded sprangletop

This grass is a summer annual. In open areas, it forms a large tuft of foliage spanning about 2' across and 1½' high. In areas with dense vegetation, it is more erect and about 2-3' tall. The culms are often decumbent near the base, where they often form rootlets along the lower nodes. The culms are terete, glabrous, and branched; they are variably colored, including bone white, light green, or light reddish green. The blades of alternate leaves are up to 8" long and 5 mm. across; they are light to medium green, rough-textured, and ascending to widely spreading. The sheaths are light to medium green and sometimes tinted purplish red near the base of the plant; they are longitudinally veined, hairless, and often rather loose. At the junctions of sheaths and blades, the ligules are white-membranous and at least 3-5 mm. long. The nodes along each culm are dull and dark-colored. The culms terminate in panicles of spikelets. The typical panicle is about 4-8" long and 2-3½" across; it has a rachis (central stalk) and several lateral branches.