Tufted annuals. Inflorescence a narrow, cylindric panicle. Spikelets 1-flowered; glumes 2, unequal, the lower slightly longer than upper, persistent, 1-nerved, much exceeding lemma, swollen near base; lemma 5-nerved, shallowly toothed at apex, usually hairy, dorsally awned (rarely the awn lacking); palea membranous, 2-nerved.
2 species from the Mediterranean, western Europe and south-western Asia; both naturalised in Australia.
Walsh, N.G. (1994). Poaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 2, Ferns and Allied Plants, Conifers and Monocotyledons, pp. 356–627. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
