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Erect decumbent or creeping herbs, or in Tribe Bambuseœ shrubs or trees. Stem terete or compressed, jointed ; internodes solid or hollow. Leaves simple, usually long and narrow, entire, parallel-nerved, with a sheathing base distinct from the blade ; sheath split to the base (very rarely entire) with often a transverse hyaline erect appendage (ligula) at the union with the blade, facing the latter. Inflorescence terminal, rarely also from the upper sheaths, consisting of spicate racemed capitate or panicled spikelets. Spikelets of three or more alternate distichous bracts (glumes), of which the two lowest are normally empty, and the succeeding, if more than one, are arranged on an axis (rachilla and are all or some of them flowering ; within each flowering glume and opposite to it is an erect narrow 2-nerved scale (palea), the margins of which are infolded towards the glume and enclose at the base the true flower. Flowers uni-or bisexual, consisting of 2, rarely 3 or 6 microscopic scales (lodicules) representing a perianth, and stamens or a pistil, or both. Stamens 3, rarely 1, 2, 6, or very rarely many, hypogynous ; filaments capillary ; anthers versatile, fugacious, of two parallel cells, with no apparent connective ; pollen globose. Ovary entire, 1-celled ; styles 2, rarely 3, free or united at the base, usually elongate, and exserted from the sides or top of the spikelets clothed with simple or branched stigmatic hairs; ovule errect, anatropous. Fruit a seed-like utricle (grain) free within the fig. glume and palea, or adherent to either or both ; pericarp very thin, rarely thick or separable from the seed. Seed erect ; albumen copious, mealy ; embryo minute, at the base of and outside the albumen ; cotyledon scutelliform, bearing on its face an erect conical plumule, and descending conical radicle. (Hooker.)

Sans : — Anna, dhânya, Tândula, vrihi ; nivara.

Vern :-Châval (H) ; Dhân, Chaul (B) ; Bhât (M) ; Arisi