Description :

• Annual or perennial (short-lived), loosely tufted
• Leaf blade linear-lanceolate, expanded, acute, margins often fringed with bristle-like hairs; ligule an unfringed to fringed membrane
• Inflorescence a solitary, cylindrical, terminal spike or spike-like raceme, appearing plumose or like a bottle-brush because of long capillary glume awns; spikelets solitary, subsessile to pedicelled
• Spikelet small, 1.2-5.5 mm long, laterally compressed, falling with glumes; glumes ± equal, membranous, linear or linear-lanceolate, similar, 1-nerved, keeled, finely scabrid, awned; awn capillary, much longer than glumes
• Floret 1, bisexual; lemma much shorter than glumes, less firm than glumes, hyaline, lanceolate, acute, 1-nerved, glabrous, awnless; palea very small, hyaline, nerveless
• Lodicules 2, broad, cuneate
• Stamens 3
• Ovary ± ellipsoid, glabrous; styles short, united at base, plumose
• Caryopsis linear-lanceolate, almost as long as glumes at maturity
• x = 10 (9) (polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Perotis Aiton
  • Aiton: 85 (1789)
  • Stapf: 575 (1899)
  • Stent: 256 (1924)
  • Chippindall: 109 (1955)
  • Launert: 149 (1970)
  • Clayton: 394 (1974)
  • Clayton & Renvoize: 255 (1986)
  • Gibbs Russell et al.: 265 (1990)
  • Watson & Dallwitz: 713 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global : Species ± 10, Africa to Asia and Australia
• Southern Africa : Species 3, N Namibia, Botswana, northern provinces of South Africa, Swaziland and KwaZulu-Natal