Annuals or perennials. Ligule membranous. Inflorescence consisting of 1-sided racemes, these digitate or borne upon a central axis, rarely solitary; rhachis flat, sometimes broadly winged. Spikelets orbicular to ovate, usually plano-convex, dorsally
flattened, single or paired, in 2-4 rows; lower glume usually 0, rarely present as a small scale; upper glume as long as spikelet; lower floret barren with the lower lemma resembling the upper glume, palea 0; upper lemma
coriaceous to crustaceous, usually obtuse. Worldwide: c.330 species in tropical and warm areas, especially in America Zambia: 7 taxa. |
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