Agropyron Gaertn.

Plants perennial, with creeping rhizomes or culms tufted. Culms erect or geniculate at base. Sheaths of vegetative shoots often closed almost throughout their length, usually with lanceolate auricles; leaf blade flat or involute. Spike linear-oblong or ovoid; rachis tough, pubescent. Spikelets 1 per node, divergently or pectinately arranged, sessile, laterally compressed, with 3–10 florets; rachilla disarticulating above glumes and between florets. Glumes linear to narrowly ovate, hardened, 1–5-veined, 1-keeled to base, tapering to an acuminate or shortly awned tip in which veins converge. Lemma lanceolate-oblong, leathery, 5–7-veined, glabrous or pilose, apex acute or with straight awn; midvein slightly keeled; callus very short. Palea ± equaling lemma, pilose along keels, rarely smooth and glabrous, apex usually 2-toothed. Lodicules ciliate at margin. Caryopsis somewhat adherent to lemma and palea. x = 7.