Perennials with spindle-shaped root tubers. Culms unbranched. Leaf blades all cauline, narrowly lanceolate, strongly many-veined with obvious cross veinlets, pseudopetiolate. Inflorescence of loose or dense unilateral racemes spaced on a central axis. Spikelets falling entire, floret 1, rachilla extension bearing a bunch of up to 9 smaller sterile lemmas, cross veinlets evident on glumes and lemmas; glumes unequal, 5–7-veined, apex obtuse; fertile lemma 7-veined, all lemmas with a retrorsely scaberulous awn, those of the sterile lemmas developing into a fan of recurved hooks at maturity. Stamens 2 or 3.
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