Description:

• Perennial or annual
• Leaf blade linear, expanded, tapering to a fine point; ligule a reduced fringed membrane or fringe of hairs
• Inflorescence of few to many spike-like racemes arranged on a central axis, or paniculate; spikelets either solitary, in pairs, or in short clusters, supported on a bead-like swelling
• Spikelet lanceolate to elliptic, dorsiventrally compressed, acute to aristate, falling with glumes; glumes usually unequal, dissimilar; lower glume reduced or apparently absent; upper glume as long as spikelet, ovate-elliptic, 5-nerved, glabrous or hairy, mucronate or usually shortly awned
• Florets 2; lower floret sterile or male; lemma similar in shape and texture to upper glume; palea similar to lemma or reduced, or 0; upper floret bisexual; lemma firmer than glumes, elliptic with inflexed margins, finely rugose, 5-nerved, glabrous, abruptly mucronate, awned or awnless; awn straight, shorter than body of lemma; palea elliptic, obtuse with inflexed margins
• Lodicules 2, broadly cuneate, sometimes somewhat suppressed
• Stamens 3
• Ovary glabrous; styles distinct or united at base, plumose
• Caryopsis oblong-ellipsoid, dorsiventrally compressed, obtuse
• x = 9 (high polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Eriochloa Kunth
  • Kunth: 94 (1816)
  • Stent: 258 (1924)
  • Chippindall: 369 (1955)
  • Clayton & Renvoize: 568 (1982)
  • Clayton & Renvoize: 285 (1986)
  • Clayton: 84 (1989)
  • Gibbs Russell et al.: 164 (1990)
  • Watson & Dallwitz: 393 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species 30, tropics
• Southern Africa: Species 5, Namibia, Botswana, North-West, Mpumalanga, Swaziland and KwaZulu-Natal