Infl. a ± narrow, us. upright panicle, or effuse and drooping, or spike-like. Spikelets 1–2-(4)-fld, 1 or rarely 2 lowest fls setting fr. Glumes obscurely distichous to spiral. Hypog. bristles 0. Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Fr. with hard bony endocarp and ± spongy thick or thin mesocarp when mature, not winged, sessile and rounded at the base or minutely stipitate, crowded by a persistent, ± hairy, sts inconspicuous style-base. Perennial herbs. Lvs. us. basal, laterally compressed, terete, 4-angled or reduced to sheathing bracts, distichous. Some 30 Spp. from Madagascar and the Mascarene Is, India, Japan, Hawaii, Malesia, Pacific Is, Australia and N.Z. Two N.Z. spp. endemic; 5 spp. occur also in Australia and 4 of these are also found in Malesia or E. Asia.

Infl. an effuse often drooping panicle. Spikelets , 2–6-fld, 2–4 lowest fls setting fr. Glumes obscurely distichous to spiral. Hypog. bristles 6–3, or 0 (in N.Z. sp. 0). Stamens 3. Style-branches 3, style-base ± 3-winged or sharply 3-angled. Fr. with very thin brittle pericarp at maturity and a ± 3-winged us. long stipe, crowned by the persistent conspicuous style-base. Perennial herbs. Lvs us. basal, strongly laterally compressed, distichous, equitant at the base. Some 25 spp. from the West Indies, S. America, Hawaii, Malesia and the Pacific Is; one N.Z. sp.