Small, shrubby or arborescent bamboos, spreading and loosely clumped. Rhizomes leptomorph. Culms pluricaespitose, suberect to drooping, 0.5–8 m tall, 0.1–4 cm thick; internodes slightly grooved above branches, glabrous, smooth or rough, pruinose below level nodes. Branch buds tall, prophylls 2-keeled, initially closed at front, on small promontory. Branches erect, initially 1–9 per node, long, subequal, basal nodes compressed, laterals arising from basal nodes, some lateral branches lacking subtending sheaths and replicated, sheaths and prophylls very persistent, papery, ± glabrous. Culm sheaths persistent to very persistent, nearly leathery; blade deciduous, often reflexed. Leaf sheaths persistent; blade small to medium-sized, without substantial winter necrosis of margins, arrangement random or ± distichous, transverse veins distinct. Inflorescence open, racemose to paniculate, branching subtended by very small bracts or hairs, often with pulvini; spikelets exserted on long, delicate pedicels. Spikelets 1–4 cm, disarticulating below florets, with 4–8 florets. Glumes 1 or 2(–5), much shorter than first lemma, delicate, basally loose and usually subtending vestigial buds. Lemma to 1 cm. Anthers 3. Stigmas 3. Fruit a caryopsis.
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