Perennial. Culms slender, erect. Leaf sheaths with margins fused in lower part; leaf blades linear. Panicle little branched, often racemelike, spikelets few. Spikelets elliptic, florets several, upper 1 or 2 sterile; rachilla scabrid, disarticulating below each floret; glumes broadly lanceolate, shorter than first floret, unequal with lower glume shorter, membranous, lower glume 1–3-veined, upper glume 5-veined, apex subacute; floret callus oblong, bearded, obtuse; lemmas lanceolate, thickly herbaceous, back rounded, 7-veined, apex shallowly 2-toothed, awned from just below teeth; awn straight or slightly recurved, usually longer than lemma body; palea 2/3–3/4 lemma length, keels ciliate above middle. Stamens 3. Caryopsis oblong, free from lemma and palea. Chromosomes small. x = 10.

One species: E Europe to E Asia, North America.