[4] The annual or short-lived perennial grass has a tufted habit and typically grows to a height of 0.12 to 0.44 m (4.7 in to 1 ft 5.3 in).

The flexuous, filiform leaf-blades can have a smooth or scaberulous surface with a length of 3 to 10 cm (1.2 to 3.9 in) and a width of 1 mm (0.039 in).

[5] The species was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1855 as part of the work Description of fifty new Australian plants, chiefly from the colony of Victoria as published in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science.

It is a normal part of grassland pastures and can be grazed by cattle and sheep along with other more-palatable species, but is mostly considered to be undesirable.

The proportion of the plant in grazing areas tends to increase over time as it has low palatability.