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Rhizomatous perennials with erect few-noded culms. Leaves mostly basal, the blades narrow and erect; ligule scarious. Inflorescence a narrow, often spiciform, panicle, its numerous primary branches bearing very short secondary racemes; raceme-rhachis not fracturing at maturity, bearing paired similar spikelets each supported on a slender pedicel. Spikelets lanceolate to oblong, ± terete, enveloped in long silky hairs from callus and glumes; callus very short, truncate; glumes equal, as long as the spikelet, lanceolate to oblong, membranous; lower floret reduced to a lemma, this lanceolate to oblong, shorter than the spikelet, hyaline; upper floret hermaphrodite; lemma lanceolate to oblong, shorter than the spikelet, hyaline, awnless; stamens 1–2; caryopsis ellipsoid.
Spikelets all alike, in pairs, unequally pedicellate on a slender continuous rachis of a raceme, surrounded at the base by long silky hairs much longer than the spikelets; pedicels of the spikelets enlarged at the summit into a shallow cupped receptacle; glumes about equal, acuminate, the first 5-to 7-nerved; sterile lemma and fertile lemma and palea hyaline, the fertile lemma awnless.
Inflorescence a silky spiciform panicle bearing numerous racemes, but these much abbreviated and not easily distinguished; raceme rhachis tough with slender internodes.
Spikelets alike, paired, both pedicelled, terete, enveloped in long white hairs from the callus and glumes.
Superior floret entire, awnless; lodicules 0; stamens 1–2.
Inferior floret represented by a hyaline lemma.
