Machaerina Vahl

Perennial herbs with horizontally creeping or short rhizome often emitting creeping stolons. Stems erect, tufted, or approximate on the creeping rhizome, ancipitous or biconvex, rarely terete, pithy, sometimes transversely septate, usually smooth, rarely asperous. Leaves distichously arranged, vertically much flattened, angled, or terete, smooth, sometimes asperous, rarely transversely septate; blades sometimes much reduced; lower sheaths brown to purplish; ligule absent. Inflorescence paniculate, consisting of few to several partial panicles; branches often in fascicles and branchlets zig-zag. Bracts sheathing, with short blades. Spikelets often clustered, rarely solitary, ovate to lanceolate, compressed, 1-several-flowered, but often the lowest flower alone nut-bearing, the upper flower reduced. Rachilla persistent, straight, with very short internodes. Glumes distichous, subtended by 1-2 transverse bracts, keeled, the lower 1-4 empty, the one bearing the fertile flower usually the largest, the uppermost usually small, either empty or with a ♂ flower. Perigone usually absent, rarely consisting of up to 6 capillary, antrorsely scabrous bristles. Stamens (1-2-)3, with free filaments and linear anthers; connective more or less produced. Style continuous with the ovary, the base conspicuously incrassate, conical or pyramidal, often hairy, persistent on the fruit; stigmas 3. Nut ovoid, ellipsoid or oblong-ellipsoid, almost terete to triquetrous, stipitate or sessile, smooth or rugulose, crowned by the adnate base of the style, which is sometimes in-distinguishable except for a slight discoloration.