Annuals. Culms tufted. Leaf blades linear, flat; ligule a lacerate or ciliate membrane. Inflorescence of elongate or cuneate racemes along a central axis, these deciduous or with deciduous secondary branchlets; spikelets sessile, biseriate, closely imbricate. Spikelets cuneate, laterally compressed, florets (1 or)2 to several, rachilla eventually disarticulating above glumes and between florets; glumes much longer than and enclosing the florets, subequal, often leathery, sometimes 3-veined, strongly keeled, acute to caudate or aristate; lemmas thinly membranous, 3-veined, pubescent on veins or glabrous, keeled, acute to emarginate, with or without a mucro; palea slightly shorter than lemma, hyaline. Caryopsis elliptic, trigonous.

Three species: native from Africa and Madagascar to India; one species (introduced) in China.

(Authors: Sun Bixing (孙必兴 Sun Bi-sin); Sylvia M. Phillips)