Leaves with ligule membranous, short; blade slender, flat or rarely involute.
Inflorescence a spike, erect or nodding. Spikelets solitary or in groups of 2 or 3 at each node, slightly laterally compressed, usually imbricate; florets several, bisexual; rachilla disarticulating above the glumes and between florets. Glumes obtuse to shortly awned, 3–9-nerved, rounded or keeled in the upper half. Lemmas 5-nerved, rounded on the back or keeled at the apex. Paleas 2-keeled.
| Key to the species | |
1 | Plants with long, pale yellow vigorous rhizomes; lemmas acute but awnless | Elymus repens |
| Plants caespitose; at least some lemmas usually awned | 2 |
2 | Rachilla hairs usually 0.2–1 mm long; callus usually triangular to narrowly triangular, usually distinctly hairy | 3 |
| Rachilla hairs <0.2 mm long; callus broadly triangular, glabrous to glabrescent Back to 1 | 4 |
3 | Rachilla hairs usually not covering callus base: callus usually triangular or various, dorsal surface falt to sunken; callus tip usually thickened | Elymus scaber |
| Rachilla hairs covering callus base; callus usually narowly triangular , dorsal surface rounded; callus distinctly hairy, hairs restricted to margins Back to 2 | Elymus rectisetus |
4 | Glumes 7.7 mm or longer; lemma awn regularly curved when dry, 1-nerved at base; mature caryopsis <55% palea length | Elymus plurinervis |
| Glumes usually <7 mm long; lemma awn straight when dry, 3-nerved at base; mature caryopsis >60% palea length Back to 2 | 5 |
5 | Awn of lowest lemma 2–7.5 mm long; other lemma awns 4.4–15 mm long; awn : lemma length 0.7–1.3 ; dark brown basaltic soils of SE Qld and N NSW | Elymus fertilis |
| Awn of lowest lemma 0–3 mm long; other lemma awns 0–11 mm long; awn : lemma length 0.2–0.8; coastal or riparian habitats Back to 4 | Elymus multiflorus |