Perotis

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).