Plants perennial; cespitose. Culms 30-45 cm. Sheaths glabrous
or sparsely pilose; ligules membranous, not or only shortly ciliate; blades
to 15 cm long, about 4 mm wide, scabrous. Panicles with 8-10 clearly separate
branches, these usually digitate, occasionally a poorly-developed second whorl
present just below the terminal whorl; branches to 20 cm, divergent, basal
2-5 cm without spikelets, averaging 3-4 spikelets per cm elsewhere. Spikelets
with 1 bisexual and 1 sterile floret. Lower glumes 2.7-3 mm; upper glumes
3.5-3.8 mm; lowest lemmas 3.7-4.3 mm long, 0.7-0.8 mm wide, lanceolate
to narrowly ovate, sides not conspicuously grooved, margins glabrous or sparsely
appressed pubescent distally with hairs shorter than 1 mm, apices acute, awned,
awns 7-11 mm; second florets 2-2.5 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, narrowly
elliptic, acute, inconspicuously bilobed, awns 4.5-6.5 mm. Caryopses about
2.3 mm long, about 0.5 mm wide, ellipsoid, trigonous. 2n = unknown.
Chloris texensis appears to be rare. It is endemic to Texas.