Dwarf domed perennial, sometimes a tussock, to 20 cm high. Leaves stiff, 20-50 mm long, 0.6-0.9 mm wide; apex needle-like, black, varnished; margins smooth or ciliate; leaf-base margins tapered gradually from sheath, pale straw, with coarse tangled hairs. Scapes 4-7 cm long, unjointed, persistent; head 9-10 mm long, 6-10 mm wide, with 12-18 flowers. Outer bracts of involucre 4-8, the longest 7-10 mm, glabrous, the wings deeply incised; inner bracts 4-7, keeled with 2 grooves, pale straw, with black, cuspidate apex. Floral bracts imbricate, not inflexed, pungent, black. Perianth lobes linear. Anthers eglandular. Testa with aculeate tubercles.
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