Plants perennial; not rhizomatous. Culms 50-100 cm, erect to somewhat decumbent, not rooting at the lower nodes, usually branching at the aerial nodes. Sheaths grayish-villous; ligules 1.5-2 mm; blades to 12 cm long, 2-2.2 mm wide, flat or folded, densely grayish-villous on both surfaces. Panicles with 2-3 spikelike primary branches, secondary branches not present; primary branches 5-11 cm, axes not winged, without spikelets or with widely spaced abortive spikelets on the proximal 1-1.5 cm, with spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs at midlength; shorter pedicels about 2 mm; longer pedicels about 3 mm, not adnate to the branch axes. Spikelets 2.7-3.2 mm, appressed, glabrous. Lower glumes minute, rounded, erose; upper glumes slightly shorter than the spikelets, 3-veined, glabrous; lower lemmas7-veined, glabrous; upper lemmas gray or yellow when immature, becoming purple at maturity. 2n = unknown.

Digitaria pauciflora is known only from the type collection, which was collected in pinelands of Dade County, Florida.