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Annuals, caespitose, bisexual. Leaves: ligule an eciliate to ciliate membrane; blade rolled in bud. Inflorescence interrupted, a false spike, with spikelets crowded in glomerules on contracted axes, with reduced, sterile spikelets often present at base of spikelet cluster (the glomerules often confluent to form a cylinder towards apex of inflorescence), espatheate but glomerules subtended by enlarged, spreading glumes of lower spikelets. Bisexual spikelets strongly laterally compressed, with 2–7 bisexual florets, disarticulating between florets; rachilla prolonged beyond bisexual florets with incomplete florets; glumes 2, ±equal, shortly aristulate or muticous, carinate, 1-nerved; lemma entire, with 1 apical non-geniculate awn, navicular, 3-nerved; palea conspicuous but relatively short. Hilum short. Embryo not waisted.
Annual. Leaf blades linear, flat; ligule membranous. Inflorescence composed of dense globular spikelet clusters, spaced or confluent along an elongate central axis, outer spikelets of each cluster with an enlarged lower glume and the lower or all lemmas empty, forming a chaffy involucre of linear-acuminate scales. Spikelets ovate, strongly laterally compressed, florets several, usually disarticulating above glumes and between florets; glumes slightly shorter than lemmas, subequal, membranous, narrow, 1-veined, acuminate to a short awn-point; lemmas 3-veined, keeled, membranous, shortly ciliate on keel and margins, keel acuminately extended into an awn-point; palea winged on keels. Lodicules 1–2. Stamens 1–3. Caryopsis with embryo 1/2 its length and free pericarp.
Spikelets 3–6-flowered; glumes subequal, a little shorter than the spikelet; floret callus short, obtuse; lemmas keeled, 3-nerved, ciliate on the margins and keel, entire, ± awned; palea a little shorter than the body of the lemma, the keels narrowly or conspicuously winged, the wings entire or variously notched.
Inflorescence of dense globular spikelet-clusters (glomerules) borne at intervals along a central axis and sometimes confluent, the outer spikelets of each glomerule with enlarged inferior glume and with lowermost lemma, or all lemmas, empty and glume-like, thus forming a chaffy involucre.
