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Perennials. Rhizomes long, short, or almost absent. Culms tufted, (10-)20-70 cm tall, flatly 3-or 4-angled, striate, sometimes apically winged, with many leaves at base. Leaves shorter than culm; sheath bilaterally compressed, abaxially membranous and rust-colored, adaxially keeled, mouth obliquely split and ciliate; ligule very short, ciliate; leaf blade 1-5 mm wide, flat, thickly papery, margin apically finely serrulate, apex acute. Involucral bracts 2-4, suberect, much shorter than inflorescence; bractlets setaceous, broader at base. Inflorescence a simple, compound, or decompound anthela, 7.5-10.5 × 4-7 cm; rays 3 or 4, 1-7 cm, compressed, scabrid. Spikelets many per inflorescence, solitary, oblong, ovoid, or narrowly ovoid, 5-9 × 1.2-2 mm, 5-13-flowered, apex acute. Glumes brown, ovate, ca. 3 mm, 1-veined forming an abaxial yellowish green keel excurrent into a mucro, apex acute. Stamens 3; anthers oblong, 1 mm or longer, ca. 1/4 as long as filament, apex acute. Ovary oblong, 3-sided; style 3-sided, glabrous, basally inflated to conic; stigmas 3, ± as long as style. Nutlet white or yellowish white, obovoid to broadly obovoid, ca. 1.5 mm, obtusely 3-sided, with transverse oblong reticulation. Fl. and fr. Jun-Oct.
Perennial herb, rhizomatous, sometimes ± tufted, 0.10-0.79 m high. Leaves variable, 1/4-equalling culm length; blades 0.9-4.5 mm wide, slightly incurved. Culm scapose, flattened, up to 3 mm in diam. Inflorescence variable, up to 70 x 55 mm, of ± 40 solitary or paired spikelets. Subtending bracts 2-4, usually 2 well developed, leaf-like. Spikelets elliptic-oblong, 4-9 x 1.0-2.2 mm. Glumes: fertile ovate, 2.2-3.6 x 1.63.6 mm, keel excurrent into small awn. Flowering time (July) Oct.-Mar. Nutlet obovate, 0.70-1.15 x 0.40-0.75 mm, pale yellow, surface trabeculate.
Perennial herb, up to 500 mm high. Rhizome well developed, usually clearly sympodial, of closely packed shoot bases confluent in a uniseriate row, occasionally irregularly forming a tuft. Leaves with fringed ligule. Flowers: style with base, excluding style branches, > 1.3 mm long; glumes brown; Oct.-Apr. Fruit with nutlet surface reticulate or smooth.
Annual, or perennial with very short rhizomes, glabrous, 2-8 dm. high; leaves 2-6 mm. wide, shorter than the strongly compressed culms; spikelets numerous, linear, 5-10 mm. long, in a decompound inflorescence; achenes trigonous, pale brown, 0.7-0.9 mm. long, usually with horizontally elongate reticulation. In dry fields or savannas.
Perennial herb, up to 500 mm tall. Style, including style base, but excluding style branches, exceeding 1.3 mm in length. Leaves ligulate. Rhizome well developed, usually clearly sympodial, of closely packed shoot bases confluent in a uniseriate row, occasionally irregularly forming a tuft. Glumes brown.
Perennial, 15-60 cm. Spikelets reddish.
