Inflorescence of small, inconspicuous flowers borne in a cyme, panicle or clustered head. Fruit a loculicidal capsule. Seeds with endosperm present. Placentation is axile, basal or parietal. Habit is as annual or perennial herbs of cool, damp, montane regions.
Leaves are simple, entire and three ranked and alternate or basal.
Blades are cylindric or flat. Bases are sheathed with the sheath sometimes representing the leaf, either open or closed.