Wagner, Warren L., Derral R. Herbst and S. H. Sohmer. 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i (Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Special Publication, 2 Vol. Set). Honolulu, HI

Flora of Hawaii:

Distribution     
Native range unknown, now pantropical.

Habit
Sprawling perennials; culms up to 6 m long, becoming decumbent and rooting at lower nodes, branching from lower and middle nodes, internodes glabrous, hollow, thick walled, nodes prominent, retrorsely papillose hirsute.

Leaves
Sheaths longer than internodes, papillose hirsute to subglabrous; ligule membranous, 1.5-1.8 mm long, densely white ciliate, collar finely velvety pubescent; blades flat, up to 25 cm long, up to 15 mm wide, usually glabrous or with a few hairs near base, midrib broad and white above near base, margins thick, purple, scabrous. Flowers  

Flowers
Inflorescences terminal on leafy branches, up to 20 cm long, consisting of several to numerous, solitary or clustered, ascending racemes 1-7 cm long, velvety pubescent at base; spikelets solitary, paired, or in small clusters along lower sides of the trigonous rachis, the rachis up to 1 mm wide, the angles scabrous, sparsely papillose; spikelets 3.2-3.4 mm long, ovate, acute, often purple, glabrous; first glume 0.8-1.2 mm long, deltate, 1-nerved, second glume and first lemma equal, about as long as the spikelet, second glume 5-7 nerved; first lemma 5-nerved, enclosing a large palea that often protrudes between first lemma and second glume, lemma of fertile floret 2.1-2.5 mm long, elliptic ovate, striate or rugulose; palea flat.  

Fruit
Caryopsis infrequently developed.  

Chromosomes
2n = 18, 36, 52.