Culms to 150 cm × 5–10 mm. Leaves: sheaths reaching beyond or to middle of culm, fronts convex, papery at mouth, veins reaching apex; widest blade 6–13 mm wide. Inflorescences subumbellate, all or most spikelets solitary or in clusters of 2–7 on 3–11 rays, rays not exceeding 8 cm; involucral bracts that surpass inflorescences 2–4, widest bract 2–8 mm wide. Spikelets 10–40, ovoid or lanceoloid, 15–40 × 5–6(–8) mm; scales tightly appressed or in fruit usually loosely imbricate, medium to dark orange-brown, lineolate-spotted at 15X, 7–9 × 3–4 mm, papery, nearly opaque, apex 2-fid 0.5 mm deep, awn fairly stout, 2–3 × (0.3–)0.5 mm at base. Flowers: perianth bristles weakly attached to shed achene or some to all falling separately, medium brown, 1/2 to equaling length of achene; anthers dark yellow to orange-yellow, 3.5–5 mm; styles (2–)3-fid. Achenes dark to medium brown, color variable often on same achene, shape variable, often in same plant, markedly to obscurely trigonous with equally rounded angles to much compressed-trigonous with abaxial angle broadly rounded, or some biconvex in same spikelet, obovoid, 3–4.3 × 2.3–3.1 mm, apex rounded to nearly truncate, beak 0.1–0.5 mm, surface glossy or glossy with dull patches, entirely clearly cellular at 20X or faintly cellular to noncellular at 30X, often in patches; in cross section exocarp 1/3–2/3 of mesocarp thickness and its cells variably enlarged, 1.5–3 times deeper than wide; achene specific gravity greater to less than water.
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