Annuals or perennials. Inflorescence a panicle. Spikelets with 2-several florets; glumes ± unequal, keeled, 1-3-nerved, unawned; lemmas 5-7-veined, unawned, keeled, laterally flattened, with a hyaline margin (in ours).
Worldwide: 200 species in temperate and cold regions and on tropical mountains.