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Perennial or annual. Culms tufted, simple or sparingly branched. Leaf blades narrowly linear; ligule a line of hairs. Inflorescence a single terminal raceme, spikelets paired, dissimilar; rachis internodes and pedicels subinflated, stoutly linear to subclavate, densely white-ciliate along margins. Sessile spikelet bisexual, narrow, compressed between internode and pedicel; callus rounded, inserted into shallowly hollowed internode apex; lower glume leathery, back concave or longitudinally grooved, strongly veined on either side of groove but midvein absent, 2-keeled, keels lateral or becoming dorsal toward base, barely winged, apex elongate, scarious, 2-toothed; upper glume boat-shaped, finely awned; lower floret staminate, well developed with palea; upper lemma 2-lobed, awned from sinus; awn geniculate, column glabrous or ciliolate. Pedicelled spikelet large, conspicuous, usually staminate, lanceolate, strongly dorsally compressed, distinctly veined, midvein present, awnless. x = 10 and 20.
Annuals or perennials. Leaf-blades linear; ligule a line of hairs. Inflorescence a solitary raceme, terminal on the culm, exserted from the sheath; internodes and pedicels thickened, narrowly oblong-cylindrical, ciliate. Sessile spikelet usually ± laterally compressed; callus obtuse and inserted in the concave top of the internode; lower glume coriaceous, convex or concave and often medianly grooved on the back, without a midnerve, commonly 2-keeled, with a narrow membranous wing towards the apex, bidentate; upper glume boat-shaped, laterally compressed, with an apical bristle; lower floret ♂, with hyaline lemma and well-developed palea; upper lemma bidentate, passing between the teeth into an awn which is puberulous to ciliate along the coils; palea lanceolate, hyaline. Caryopsis lanceolate-oblong, concave on one side. Pedicelled spikelet ♂ or barren, conspicuous, awnless.
Sessile spikelet laterally or dorsally compressed to ± square in section, fitting between the internode and pedicel; callus obtuse and inserted into the concave top of the internode; inferior glume coriaceous, concave or with a median groove, laterally 2-keeled or lyrate with the keels becoming dorsal towards the base, scarcely winged, bifid at the apex; superior glume awned; inferior floret male and with a palea; superior lemma bifid, awned from between the teeth with an awn puberulous to ciliate along the edges of the coils.
Inflorescence a single terminal raceme, exserted from the uppermost leaf sheath; rhachis internodes and pedicels stoutly linear to subclavate, ciliate.
Pedicelled spikelet large, lanceolate, strongly dorsally compressed, distinctively lyrate-nerved.
Caryopsis lanceolate-oblong, dorsally compressed, concave on one side.
Annual or perennial; ligule a line of hairs.
