Harpachne Hochst.

Tufted perennials. Leaf-blades linear, flat or convolute; ligule a fringe of hairs. Inflorescence an erect oblong raceme of loosely to densely crowded reflexed spikelets hanging on slender pedicels from the central rhachis; pedicels pubescent to villous, filiform near the rhachis, broadened below the spikelets. Spikelets several–many-flowered, with the lower florets usually shorter than the upper, strongly laterally compressed, falling entire, the pedicel fracturing near its attachment to the rhachis and remaining attached to the base of the spikelet as a pungent, often hooked appendage; glumes 1-nerved, unequal, narrow, keeled, shorter than the lemmas; lemmas 3-nerved, with the lateral nerves ± 2/3 as long as the lemma, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, thinly membranous to somewhat cartilaginous, scabrid along the keel, minutely ciliate along the margins, acuminate to narrowly acuminate-aristate; palea much shorter than the lemma, winged on the keels, shortly ciliate along the margins. Caryopsis laterally compressed, obliquely elliptic in profile, light brown.