Plants perennial; synoecious; rhizomatous, occasionally also stoloniferous. Culms 2-80 cm, hard, persistent, branched above the base. Ligules membranous, ciliate, cilia as long as or longer than the basal membrane; blades linear-lanceolate, becoming rolled, hard, and sharp-pointed. Inflorescences terminal, exceeding the upper leaves, panicles of racemosely arranged, spikelike primary branches; primary branches woody, not disarticulating, apices hard, sharp; secondary branches shorter than 1 cm, otherwise similar to the primary branches, sometimes clustered. Spikelets 7-16 mm, laterally compressed, with 3-16(20) florets; florets bisexual; disarticulation above the glumes and beneath the florets. Glumes more or less equal, markedly exceeded by the florets; lemmas 3-veined, unawned; lodicules 2; anthers 3. Caryopses glabrous. x = unknown. Name from the Greek klados, branch, twig, or stem, and rhaphis, needle, alluding to the sharp-pointed inflorescence branches.

Cladoraphis is a southern African genus of two species, both of which grow in open, xeric, sandy habitats.

1.   Cladoraphis cyperoides (Thunb.) S.M. Phillips
Bristly Lovegrass

Culms 2-80 cm. Blades 2-11 cm long, 4-9 mm wide, margins ciliate basally. Primary branches to 8 cm, widely spaced, often separated by more than their own length. Spikelets with 4-9(20) florets, densely clustered, appressed to and concealing the branch axes; lemmas about 3.5 mm. 2n = unknown.

Cladoraphis cyperoides was once collected on a ballast dump at Linnton (near Portland, Oregon). It is not known to have persisted in North America. The spinelike leaves and panicle branches would probably make an encounter memorable.