Spikelets few-fld, flat, disarticulating above the glumes and between the lemmas; glumes unequal, nearly as long as the lemmas, 1-3- veined, keeled; lemmas obtuse or acute, usually mucronate or short-awned, keeled, 5- veined, the intermediate veins often inconspicuous; uppermost lemmas reduced; infl open, the lower branches naked at base, erect or divergent, the branches and main axis bearing numerous short-pediceled spikelets in dense one-sided clusters near the ends; perennial tufted grasses with compressed sheaths, long ligules and flat blades. Monotypic.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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