Latin milium – millet.

Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves flat. Flower clusters branched, drooping. Spikelets slightly flattened from top to bottom with 1 flower. Glumes equal, longer than the shiny floret and with 3 veins. Lemma with 5 veins.

Closely related to the similar genus Oryzopsis. Grown mostly as the ornamental cultivar.

Seed.

Panicle open and drooping.

5 species from northern temperate areas.

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.