Rhizome short, ligneous, without stolons. Culms tufted or loosely tufted, slightly slender, 35-100 cm tall, triquetrous, smooth, clothed at base with sheaths, sheaths ± disintegrating into fibers. Leaves usually basal, rarely cauline, shorter than culm, blades 2-4 mm wide, flat, ± stiff, scabrous on both surfaces and margins; sheaths short, usually splitting to base. Involucral bracts sheathed, lower blades leafy, upper blades linear; sheaths 0.5-4.5 cm, upper part brownish green. Spikes numerous, 1-3 in an involucral bract sheath, usually 2 or 3 racemes composed of several spikes in lower involucral bract sheaths, distance of lower part up to 18 cm, upper part slightly contiguous, spikes androgynous, male part much shorter than female part, rarely terminal spike male, narrowly cylindric or sublanceolate, (1-)1.5-3.5 cm, pedunculate. Female glumes brown, sometimes brownish and brown striate at middle, broadly ovate, ca. 3 mm, membranous, green 3-veined, apex acute, muticous. Utricle red-brown, suberect, slightly longer than glume, broadly elliptic, compressed plano-convex, ca. 4 mm, membranous, thinly 9-veined abaxially, base abruptly contracted into a short stipe, upper margins loosely ciliate, apex abruptly contracted into a medium-sized beak, orifice 2-toothed. Nutlets yellowish, tightly enveloped, elliptic, compressed plano-convex, ca. 2 mm; style base slightly thickened; stigmas 2, shorter than utricle. Fl. and fr. Mar-Oct.
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