Hort. Berol. 1: 59 (1827).- Type: Ehrenberg s.n., Egypt (- M).
Regional litterature: FTEA: 254 (1974); Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 7: 135, fig. (1995); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 125 (2015)
Description:
* Slender to moderately robust spreading annual of 5-70(-100) cm high. Culms geniculately ascending and often rooting at the lower nodes, frequently shortly stoloniferous and mat-forming, less often erect. Leaves flat, 3-25 cm long, 2.5-7.5(-12) mm wide, papillose-hispid especially along the margins.
* Inflorescence compact, composed of (1-)3-9 linear to narrowly oblong racemes of 1.2-6.5 cm long, ascending or often radiating horizontally from the top of the culm in a dense subglobose head.
* Spikelets broadly ovate, 3-4-flowered, broadly ovate, 3.5-4.5 mm long. Glumes subequal, 1.5-2.2 mm. long, the lower lanceolate in profile with a thick scabrid keel, the upper elliptic to narrowly obovate, the smooth keel extended into a stout divergent scabrid awn of 1-4 mm long. Lemmas narrowly ovate to ovate in profile, 2.6-4 mm long, the keel gibbous, concave and scabrid above the middle and often extended into a stout mucro up to 1 mm long; palea-keels winged. Anthers 0.3-0.8 mm. long. Caryopsis ellipsoid to broadly ovoid, 1 mm. long, broadly obovate to obtriangular in profile, transversely rugose.
Distribution West Africa: Sudan
Distribution world-wide: Ethiopia and NE Africa, Kenya, southern Asia.
Note: Short broad racemes clustered together in a compact head with pointed lemmas giving a spiky appearance