Plants highly stoloniferous. Culms 10-40 cm, decumbent, rooting
at the lower nodes, erect portions 10-20 cm; nodes pubescent; internodes
glabrous. Leaves cauline, often purplish; sheaths keeled, pubescent
basally and sometimes sparsely so distally, margins ciliate; ligules 0.2-0.5
mm, truncate; blades 0.5-7 cm long, 1-7 mm wide, flat, pubescent. Rames
2-3 cm; internodes 2-3 mm, flat, ciliate on the edges and distally. Sessile
spikelets 3-4 mm, ovate, pilose, brown or yellow-brown; calluses blunt;
glumes concealing the floret; lower glumes 2-3 mm; lemmas
about 1 mm; awns 4-12 mm, exserted, geniculate, twisted below the bend,
brown. Pedicels 4-4.5 mm, slender, free of the rame axes. Pedicellate
spikelets similar to the sessile spikelets or somewhat smaller, sometimes
staminate. Caryopses 1.5-1.8 mm. 2n = 20.
Polytrias amaura is native to southeastern Asia. It used as a lawn grass
in tropical and subtropical regions, including Florida. It gives a purplish cast
to a lawn.