Plants annual or perennial; sometimes rhizomatous or stoloniferous. Culms 10-60 cm, usually compressed; internodes solid. Leaves cauline; sheaths shorter than the internodes, compressed; ligules membranous and ciliate or of hairs; blades flat or folded. Inflorescences spikelike panicles; branches very short, with fewer than 10 spikelets, appressed to and partially embedded in the flattened, corky rachises; disarticulation below the glumes, often with a segment of the branch. Spikelets lanceolate to ovate, unawned, lower glumes oriented away from the branch axes. Glumes membranous; lower glumes scalelike, usually without veins; upper glumes 5-7-veined; lower florets staminate or sterile, lemmas 3-9-veined; upper florets bisexual; upper lemmas longer than the glumes, papery to subcoriaceous, 3-5-veined; upper paleas generally indurate, 2-veined; anthers 3. Caryopses lanceolate to ovate, often failing to develop. x = 9. Name from the Greek stenos, narrow, and taphros, trench, referring to the cavities in the rachis.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MG-70-19-0057-19].