Perennial herbs with short, rather stout rhizomes; long-creeping stolons absent (in Mal. spp). Flowering stems centrally arising from a tuft of normal leaves, erect, trigonous, usually leafy, or from the axils of the lower leaves or below the leaves and then scapiform. Leaves 3-ranked, basal and usually one to several higher on the stem, subcoriaceous or herbaceous, conduplicate at the base, very acute, with 3 more prominent nerves, linear to lanceolate; cauline leaves sheathing the stem, in the scapigerous species reduced to bladeless sheaths. Inflorescence terminal, paniculate, more or less corymbose, sometimes contracted into a single capituliform cluster. Bracts long, leaf-like, not sheathing at the base, in the scapigerous species small, almost glume-like. Spikelets few to very numerous, ovoid to oblong-ellipsoid, often almost globose when in fruit, terete, several-to many-flowered. Glumes membranous to chartaceous, spirally imbricate, glabrous, smooth, 1-nerved, muticous or with slightly excurrent midrib, some lower ones empty. Flowers hermaphrodite, strongly dorsiventrally compressed. Hypogynous scales 2, hyaline, transversal, opposite, boat-shaped, ciliate on the acute keel, often (always in Mal. spp.?) delicately connate on the adaxial side, but readily rupturing when the fruit develops (in some extra-Mal. spp. also connate on the abaxial side and then forming a tube); no inner flat scales present. Stamens 2, in the axils of the scales (in some extra-Mal. spp. stamens 3). Ovary terminal. Style continuous with the ovary, not or hardly incrassate at the base; stigmas 2, long. Nut biconvex, ovate, elliptic, or almost orbicular, hard, smooth or irregularly wrinkled, with long spongy beak confluent with the nut proper.
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Herbs, perennial, moderately robust to robust, rhizomatous [or stoloniferous]. Roots coarse. Culms central or lateral, if lateral then with cataphylls at base. Leaves 3-ranked, basal or cauline, ligulate; basal leaf sheath folded, adaxially open, cauline leaf sheath tubular; leaf blade leathery, glabrous. Involucral bracts leaflike or glumelike, basal bract usually longest. Inflorescence usually an open compound panicle or capitate, with 1 to many spikes. Spikes comprising many spirally imbricate glumelike bracts each subtending a bisexual spikeletlike unit with a much reduced axis (pseudospikelet). Pseudospikelets comprising a naked apparently terminal female flower and 2(or 3) glumes all subtending a male flower comprising 1 stamen; basal 2 glumes opposite, keeled. Perianth bristles absent. Stigmas 2 or 3. Nutlet with a sculptured hard outer surface, apex often conically rostrate or sometimes mucronate.
Inflorescence a head, spike, or corymb; flowers with 2 or more stamens; scales 2 or more, 2 of them often connate; style 2-fid.
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