Perennial, rarely annual, herbs or small shrubs. Inflorescence paniculate, often corymbose; spikes secund, sometimes grouped into compact terminal heads; spikelets 1–several-flowered, 2–several-bracteate, with a small fleshy bracteole at the base of each bract. Calyx 5-lobed, funnel shaped, 5-nerved; corolla with short tube or petals connate only at base. Fruit a capsule, membranous, 1-seeded, enclosed in persistent calyx, indehiscent or irregularly dehiscent. Seed dark brown or black, long, narrow, slightly flattened, tapering slightly towards apex.
Worldwide: c. 350 species, cosmopolitan, commonly in maritime habitats and arid areas of the N hemisphere DRC: 1 cultivated taxon. |
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