In different varieties it may be spreading, one-sided, or erect. The branches in the panicle bear spikelets only toward the tips. Each spikelet has two unequal glumes and a single flower. The flower consists of the lemma and palea, enclosing the stamens and pistil. As in oats, the lemma and palea adhere to and are a part of the threshed grain.
Seeds range in color from white or cream to yellow, brown or nearly black.
The seeds do not mature uniformly and shattering of those first ripe often occurs before others are mature. For this reason the crop is usually mowed and cured in the swath or windrow prior to combining. As food in Old World countries, millet is used as a meal for making baked foods, as a paste from pounded wet seeds or as boiled gruel. As feed the grain is eaten readily by livestock, and is equal to or superior to oats in feed value. It should be ground for livestock feed.