The plant stem can grow up to one meter tall, with inflorescence in the ears and purple grain.

[1] The similarity between these two plants is so great that in some regions, darnel is called "false wheat".

[3] Darnel can be infected by an endophytic fungus of the genus Neotyphodium and the endophyte-produced, insecticidal loline alkaloids were first isolated from this plant.

[4] The French word for darnel is ivraie (from Latin ebriacus, intoxicated), which expresses the drunken nausea from eating the infected plant, which can be fatal.

[1] The French name echoes the scientific name, Latin temulentus "drunk."