Germainia Balansa & Poitr.

Compactly tufted perennials (in Australia), erect from base. Leaves: ligule a short hair-fringed membrane; blade linear. Inflorescence terminal, a solitary capitate raceme, or digitate or subdigitate infloresence of 2–6 racemose branches; sometimes with basal spikelet pairs reduced to sessile spikelets and forming an involucre. Spikelets paired, with one sessile and male, and the other pedicellate and bisexual. Sessile spikelets with lower glume typically obscuring pedicellate spikelet; glumes unequal and very dissimilar, with the upper glume longer and seen as an emergent tip past the truncated apex of the lower glume, flattened on back, acuminate, chartaceous, the lower glume convex or flattened on back, broadly truncate and often irregularly dentate, coriaceous to indurated; 2-flowered, the lower floret male with lemma lanceolate, linear or oblong, hyaline, palea hyaline, the upper floret male with lemma entire, hyaline, palea membranous. Pedicellate spikelets lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, usually smaller than sessile spikelets, the lower floret rarely present as sterile lemma, the upper floret, bisexual with awned lemma and reduced palea (see discussion in notes); pedicel free of rachis. Caryopsis oblong.