Many species have short stems and most leaves are basal, sometimes forming dense tussocks.
The leaves are usually long and slender and have parallel venation. The floral parts are usually in 3's. In the grasses, sedges and rushes, the perianth may be much reduced or absent. Below is a key that might be useful for determining the family of a flowering specimen. Leaves often linear and grass-like arising from a bulb, tuber, corm or rhizome.