Greek arrhen – male, athe – awn, referring to the awn of the male floret.

Loosely tufted perennial herbs to 2 m tall, often with bulbous bases, the culms erect or spreading and with basal internodes generally swollen. Leaves with blades rolled in bud; ligule membranous. Flower cluster a narrow, open to dense panicle. Spikelets stalked, solitary, slightly flattened; florets 2 lower male, upper bisexual. Glumes broad and papery, disarticulating above (the florets falling together). Lemmas slightly longer than glumes, lowermost with a twisted, bent awn from the base, upper awnless or with short bristle. Palea narrow and shorter than the lemma.

Seed; cultivars by division.

Swollen, bulbous internodes near ground level.

4 species from Europe and the Mediterranean. Australia has 1 naturalised species.

Source: Spencer, R.; Aldous, D.; Stajsic, V.; McGeary, D (2005). Poaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.