The leaf-blade is linear-lanceolate, tapering to a fine point, rigid, glabrous or sparsely hairy, but with prominent white hairs near the mouth of the sheath at the base, 1 to 10 inches long and 1/12 to 3/16 inch broad, the base is rounded and the margin eglandular and very finely serrate.
The inflorescence is a large, effuse, nodding, pyramidal or oblong panicle, much branched, the peduncle being as long as the rest of the plant; branches are slender, solitary, suberect, drooping, rather angled, scaberulous, 3 to 7 inches long with very fine capillary branchlets; all the axils of the branches and branchlets have long white hairs.
Fig. 220.—Eragrostis tremula.
1. Spikelet; 2 and 3. the first and the second glume; 4 and 5. flowering glume and its palea; 6. stamens, ovary and lodicules.
The spikelets are linear, narrowed upwards, glabrous, flattened pale green or purple tinged, few to 70-flowered; pedicels are slender and capillary, longer or shorter than the spikelets; rachilla is zigzag and glabrous. The first two glumes are subequal, ovate, acute, one-nerved, keel obscurely scaberulous, membranous. The third and the succeeding flowering glumes are ovate, obtuse, as long as the second glume or slightly longer, sub-chartaceous, glabrous, three-nerved; palea is shorter than the glume, curved obovate oblong and persistent on the rachilla. Stamens are three with small anthers. Style branches are two. Lodicules are minute. Grain is nearly globose, compressed on one side, obscurely rugulose.
This grass is not very widely distributed although it occurs in some parts of the Presidency. It is common on the West Coast in sandy places.
Distribution.—From the Punjab to Bengal and Burma and Southward to Carnatic. Also said to occur in Afghanistan and Tropical Africa.