Herb, dioecious, rhizomatous, perennial; males with similar fertile and vegetative culms; females with aerial vegetative culms but spikelets subterranean. Rhizome to 40 cm long or more, 1–3 mm diam.; scales scarious, glossy, shortly ciliate, chestnut-coloured. Cataphylls to 8 cm long, glossy-brown. Culms usually spaced up to 30 cm apart on rhizome, 10–30 cm long, erect, slender, 0.5–1.3 mm diam., + terete, smooth to rugose or striate, brown, pilose with short white hairs; the first internode (2.5–) 7–15 cm long; much branched above the first internode; upper branches 1.0–1.5 mm diam., terete to compressed, flexuose or curled, striate, glabrous, grey-to yellow-green; internodes numerous, 0.5–2.0 mm long; barren branches terminating in a minute mucro. Sheaths appressed, 3–8 mm long, rigid, red-brown, becoming brown; apex obtuse to truncate with a minute lamina 0.2–0.7 (–5.0) mm long. Male spikelets on short, flexuose branches; the spikelets solitary and terminal or axillary, ovoid, 3.5–6 mm long, 1–3 mm wide. Male glumes c. 3 sterile lower and 6–13 fertile upper, lanceolate, (1.3–) 1.8–2.2 mm long; mucro (0.6–) 1.6–2.5 mm long; the apical margins fringed with very short white hairs. Female spikelets solitary, sessile on short subterranean branches, largely below ground; only the style, stigmas, and tips of cataphylls above ground level; fruit maturing below ground. Male flowers: tepals brown, 1.6–2.0 mm long; filaments 1.9–2.7 mm long, stout; anthers c. 0.9–1.4 mm long. Female flower enclosed by numerous glossy bracts; bracts 2–80 mm long; long inner bracts convolute around the emergent style; tepals oblong-lanceolate, 15–20 mm long; between bracts and tepals are dense, silky, long (8–12 mm) white hairs. Fruit c. 15 mm long, c. 8 mm diam., conical, glossy-black, striate. Seed smooth, brown, globose or pyriform, c. 10 mm long.
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