Seedling
Seedlings are flat, rough to the touch and have short blades. Leaves are rolled in the bud, auricles are absent, and ligules are membranous (0.8-1.5 mm long) and torn or jagged across the top.
Juvenile plant
Leaves and ligule are similar to those of the seedling. No auricles and ligules are membranous. Stems are branched. Internodes are smooth and shiny.
Mature plant
Stems are branched and stiff, with a wiry appearance. Internodes remain smooth and shiny. Leaf blades are rather short (10 cm long by 3-7 mm wide) and flat, lacking hairs, and have rough margins. Sheaths also lack hairs, and they are rounded and shorter than the stem internodes. The base of the stem bends abruptly and touches the ground, often rooting at the lower nodes.
Flowers
Flowers are produced from August to October. Spikelets are very small (3 mm) and are produced in condensed panicles located at the terminal end of the stems and from the leaf sheaths. Panicles are 3-10 cm long and 0.5-1 cm wide. Terminal panicles are slightly longer than the upper leaf blades. Axillary panicles are smaller than the terminal panicle and may be partially covered by the leaf sheath. Spikelets are soft and green or brown to purplish, and when present, awns are slender (2-7 mm long).
Post senescene
Short, wiry leaves and stems remain intact throughout the winter with the remnants of seedheads still attached within the sheaths.
