Sporobolus caroli

Tufted annual or perennial, culms erect, to 70 cm high. Leaves glabrous or sparsely ciliate; blade flat but with a prominently keeled midrib, to 18 cm long and 5 mm wide, scabrous; ligule 0.5–1 mm long. Inflorescence an open panicle with fine, widely spreading branches, to 15 cm long and 12 cm wide. Spikelets c. 1.5 mm long, dark purplish-grey; glumes acute, membranous, the lower 0.5–1 mm long, the upper as long as the spikelet; lemma acute, membranous, subequal to upper glume; palea slightly shorter than lemma, splitting along the midline as the grain matures. Flowers Oct.–Apr., following rains.