Plants annual. Culms (2)3.5-45 cm. Ligules 0.5-1 mm; blades (0.5)0.7-8.5 cm long, 1.2-5 mm wide, glabrous. Panicles (1)2-13 cm long, (3)4-8 mm wide; rachises pubescent; branches (0.5)0.7-2.7 mm, pubescent, with 2(3) spikelets, axes occasionally extending past the distal spikelets; proximal internodes 0.2-0.6(0.7) mm, shorter than the second internodes. Proximal spikelets (1.8)2-4.3 mm; second spikelets (0.8)1-3.9 mm, sometimes sterile. Lower glumes 0.1-0.6 mm, membranous, minutely pubescent; upper glumes 1.8-4.3 mm, minutely pubescent, 5-veined, rarely with 1-2 additional veins adjacent to the midvein; glume projections (4)6-14, in 5 rows, (0.2)0.3-1 mm, uncinate; lemmas (1.5)1.8-3.1 mm, sparsely pubescent on the back, midveins occasionally excurrent to 0.6 mm; paleas (1.3)1.5-2.4 mm; anthers 3, 0.4-0.6 mm, yellow, occasionally purple- or green-tinged. Caryopses (0.9)1.2-2 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide. 2n = 20.
Tragus berteronianus is native to Africa and Asia. It is now widely established elsewhere. In North America, it is now established in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas but was collected in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia in the nineteenth century. It was also collected in Virginia in 195 but whether from the same site(s) as before is not known. In the Flora of Pakistan, Cope reported it only from grid F2 but it is probably more widespread today. In the Flora of Somalia, he reported it from regions N1-N3, C1 and C2, and S2. .