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Annuals or perennials, often tall but sometimes delicate. Leaf-blades linear, acute or obtuse at the tip; ligule membranous to scarious. Inflorescence composed of single racemes, usually arranged in a spathate false panicle, but sometimes solitary at the top of the culm; racemes slender; internodes and pedicels linear to clavate. Sessile spikelet linear to lanceolate; callus obtuse, inserted in the crateriform and scariously rimmed top of the internode; lower glume thinly chartaceous to sub-coriaceous, convex on the back, 2-keeled (or at least sharply inflexed), the keels ± frontal, with several intercarinal nerves; lower floret reduced to a hyaline lemma; upper lemma hyaline, often stipitiform, shortly bilobed or deeply bifid (very rarely entire), with a glabrous awn from the sinus (very rarely awnless). Caryopsis linear, subterete. Pedicelled spikelet ♂ or barren, commonly smaller than the sessile.
Sessile spikelet dorsally or laterally compressed, narrowly ovoid to subterete; callus rounded; inferior glume chartaceous to subcoriaceous, with a ± deep and narrow median groove or ± flat or convex, with several intercarinal nerves, these distinct at least at the apex, awnless; superior glume usually keeled, with ± ciliate hyaline margins; inferior floret reduced to a hyaline lemma; superior floret bisexual, the lemma usually keeled, ± deeply bifid, rarely entire, awned.
Racemes single, usually arranged in a spatheate false panicle, rarely solitary on the branches, usually not enclosed by the spatheoles; peduncles usually longer than the racemes, rarely shorter; internodes and pedicels ± clavate, glabrous or ciliate on both margins.
Much like Andropogon and only weakly separated from it, but now usually held at generic rank; rames solitary at the top of each peduncle; joints of the rachis flat, gradually widened distally, obliquely cup-shaped at the tip. 50, mostly warm reg
Pedicelled spikelet male or vestigial, usually smaller than the sessile spikelet, rarely bisexual or female, mucronate or with a terminal awn.
