Rhizomatous and stoloniferous annual or perennial. Stems decumbent, culms weakly ascending, to 50 cm high; nodes glabrous. Leaves glabrous to sparsely ciliate, smooth; blade flat, 3–8 cm long and 2–6 mm wide, usually with 3–5 nerves equally prominent; ligule membranous, erose, c. 1 mm long. Panicle or raceme linear, 2–8 cm long, lower branches, if present, appressed to main axis, to 15 mm long. Spikelets shortly pedicellate, narrow-lanceolate, mostly 6–10 mm long and most or all subtended by a scabrous bristle to c. 2 cm long; lower glume broad, rounded or truncate, c. 1 mm long, membranous, apparently nerveless; upper glume as long as the spikelet, 15–19-nerved, scabrous along the nerves; lemma of lower (male) floret smooth, subequal to or as long as upper glume, palea slightly shorter; lemma of upper floret acute, c. 3 mm long, membranous, almost completely enclosing floret, palea equal to lemma. Flowers Feb.–Apr.
GipP, EGL, HSF. Also Qld, NSW. Rare in Victoria where known from creeks and swamps (sometimes slightly brackish) between Bruthen and the mouth of the Snowy River, shores of Lake Glenmaggie near Heyfield, and a pre-1900 collection from Lake King near Bairnsdale.
