Plants perennial; cespitose. Culmsto 100 cm, erect, not branching at the lower nodes; nodes 1-2. Sheaths with appressed hairs, lower sheaths densely hairy, upper sheaths sparingly hairy near the base, otherwise glabrous; ligules 2-3 mm; blades 10-40 cm long, to 3 mm wide, usually flat, involute when dry. Panicles with 2-4 spikelike branches on 4-6 cm rachises; primary branches 20-25 cm, axes triquetrous, not winged, with spikelets in unequally pedicellate groups of 3(-5) on the basal 1/2; secondary branches rarely present, longer pedicels often adnate to the branch axes basally. Spikelets 2.2-2.5 mm long, 0.8 mm wide, elliptic, acute. Lower glumes absent; upper glumes 3-veined, margins and intercostal regions with long, glandular-tipped hairs; lower lemmas 7-veined, margins and the region between the 2 inner marginal veins with long glandular hairs; upper lemmas light to dark brown at maturity, striate, apiculate. 2n = unknown.

Digitaria leucocoma is known only from high pinelands near Lake Ella, Lake County, Florida. It has been treated in the past as a synonym of D. filiformis var. villosa.

Culms 75-150 cm. Basal leaf sheaths with papillose-based hairs; cauline leaf blades 1-6 mm wide, flat. Panicle branches 10-25 cm. Spikelets 2-2.8 mm; lower lemmas pubescent.

Digitaria filiformis var. villosa has essentially the same geographic range as var. filiformis and grows in similar habitats. Further study may show that the two varieties should be combined.