Description:

• Annual or perennial, tufted
• Leaf blade linear, expanded, pubescent or pilose; ligule an unfringed or fringed membrane
• Inflorescence a panicle, contracted, often dense, sometimes almost spike-like, oblong or interrupted; spikelets solitary, pedicelled, pedicel terete, pilose
• Spikelet laterally compressed, falling with glumes; glumes ± equal, ± as long as to longer than spikelet, membranous, dissimilar, keeled; lower glume lanceolate, hairy on keels and margins, 1-3-nerved, awned; awn half as long as body of glume; upper glume larger, elliptic-lanceolate or ovate, 3-nerved, with 2 prominent lateral nerves, hairy on keel and margins, shortly mucronate or awned; awn as long as body of glume
• Florets 2, a brief rachilla extension often present; lower floret bisexual; lemma firmer in texture than glumes, shiny, ovate, rounded on back, obscurely 3-5-nerved, obtuse or acute, awnless; upper floret specialised in form, male or sterile, lemma shorter to ± as long as lower lemma, lanceolate, hyaline or membranous, glabrous, awned from back near apex; awn short, stout, hooked, usually geniculate, slightly twisted; palea smaller than lemma, narrow-lanceolate
• Lodicules 2, delicate
• Stamens 3
• Ovary glabrous; styles distinct, plumose above
• Caryopsis narrowly ellipsoid
• x = 4, 7 (polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Holcus L.
  • Linnaeus: 1047 (1753) name conserved
  • Stapf: 464 (1899)
  • Stent: 284 (1924)
  • Chippindall: 87 (1955)
  • Tutin: 230 (1980)
  • Clayton & Renvoize: 130 (1986)
  • Gibbs Russell et al.: 180 (1990)
  • Watson & Dallwitz: 464 (1994)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species 6, Europe, North Africa and Middle East
• Southern Africa: Species ± 2, 1 endemic: Holcus setiger Nees, 1 naturalised: *H. lanatus L., northern provinces of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern and Western Cape