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THEMEDA Forrsk.
Plants hermaphroditic, caespitose or stoloniferous, annual or perennial. Culms erect or ascending; internodes solid or hollow, glabrous, terete; nodes glabrous or hairy. Leaves basal and cauline, not distinctly distichous; sheaths terete, margins open; auricles absent; ligules membranous or a ciliate membrane; blades flat or folded, linear, lax, apex acuminate. Spicate racemes terminal and axillary (many inflorescences per culm), sheaths subtending inflorescences inflated and spathe-like, not aromatic, rachis glabrous (short); pedicels not with a longitudinal groove, sparsely hairy, semi-terete or flattened. Sessile spikelets (sterile) (1-4) at inflorescence base and appearing as a loose involucre; first glumes 0-keeled, abaxial surface convex with papilla based hairs, membranous; awnless; second glumes hyaline, length nearly equal first glumes; lower floret with lemma, neuter. Spikelets in threes at inflorescence apex; 2 pedicellate and sterile, first and second glumes hyaline; 1 sessile and fertile, first glumes 0-keeled, abaxial surface convex, smooth except at apex, coriaceous, glabrous, awnless; second glumes length equals first glumes; lower florets sterile; lemmas hyaline, entire (acute) awnless; upper florets fertile; lemmas hyaline at base becoming a stout awn; paleas absent or present. Stamens 3; anthers ?. Caryopses lanceolate, doriventrally compressed, longitudinally grooved. Base chromosome number x=10.
A genus of about 18 species. Several important forage species.
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