Eragrostiella Indian Forester 66: 269 (1940).
Derivation:. Diminutive of Eragrostis.
Taxonomic revisions, nomenclatural references:. M. Lazarides, Contr. Herb. Australiensis 22: 1–7 (1976).
Key references (keys and floras):. M.Lazarides, Tropical Grasses S.E. Asia 172–173 (1980); B.K.Simon, Key to Australian Grasses 111 (1993); D.Sharp and B.K.Simon, AusGrass (2002); K.Mallet (ed.), Flora of Australia 44B: Poaceae 3: 409–411 (2005).
W.D.Clayton & S.A.Renvoize, Genera Graminum (1986), genus (359).
Native. 6 species, from India, Burma, Sri Lanka and Australia. 1 species in Australia, Qld. Also Malesia.
Habit. Perennial, compactly tufted. Leaf blades narrow. Ligule a fringed membrane.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence a single spike or a single raceme (long-pedunculate), a single raceme or spike.
Spikelets. Spikelets laterally compressed, more than 2 flowered, with 2 or more fertile florets, solitary, subsessile or pedicelled (all on one side of axis); with naked rachilla extension. Fertile spikelets disarticulating above glumes.
Glumes. Glumes more or less equal, shorter than adjacent lemmas or long relative to adjacent lemmas, awnless, keeled (the lower) or non-keeled (the upper being keeled only at the tip), dissimilar. Lower glume 1 nerved. Upper glume 3 nerved.
Florets. Fertile florets 6–50. Lemmas less firm than glumes to similar in texture to glumes (membranous to cartilaginous), not becoming indurated, entire at apex to incised (acute to emarginate), muticous, without a germination flap, 3 nerved, glabrous, 1 keeled. Keel wingless. Palea relatively long, entire, 2 nerved. Palea keels narrowly to broadly winged. Distal incomplete florets underdeveloped. Lodicules 2. Grain ellipsoid, terete or trigonous, sculptured (reticulate-striate). Embryo large.
Kranz Anatomy. C4.
Habitat. Xerophytic. Dry grassland and bush, on thin soils. Species of open habitats.
Classification. Chloridoideae; Cynodonteae.
Notes. A homogeneous genus split from Eragrostis (Clayton and Renvoize, 1986).
Types Species. E. leioptera (Stapf) Bor.
Biogeographic Element. Clifford & Simon 1981, Simon & Jacobs 1990: Old World Tropics.