Rhizome short. Culms tufted, 5-25 cm tall, triquetrous, smooth, clothed at base with reddish brown sheaths. Leaves longer than culm, blades 2-3 mm wide, flat, scabrous on margins, slightly long sheathed, lower sheaths usually red-brown. Involucral bracts leaflike, longer than subtending spike, lower sheaths rather long, upper sheaths rather short. Spikes 4 or 5, ± contiguous, lowermost one rather spaced; upper 1 or 2 spikes male, clavate, 0.8-1.2 cm, shortly pedunculate, suppressing contiguous female spike; remaining spikes female, oblong, 1-1.8 cm, densely many flowered, upper spikes shortly pedunculate, lower ones slightly long pedunculate, peduncles usually enclosed in involucral bracts sheaths. Female glumes pale or slightly brownish yellow, ovate or broadly ovate, ca. 3 mm, 3-veined, green between veins, scabrid on veins, margins hyaline, apex acute. Utricles yellowish green, slightly brownish at maturity, slightly obliquely patent, longer than glume, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-ovate, plano-convex-trigonous, 5-8 mm, subleathery, glabrous, 2-4-veined abaxially, base subrounded, margins serrulate winged, apex attenuate into a slightly broad and ± long beak, orifice membranous and deeply splitting into 2 teeth. Nutlets dark brown, slightly loosely enveloped, oblong, compressed trigonous, 3-4 mm, granular-punctate, base shortly stipitate; style tortuous, persistent, base slightly thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. May-Jul.
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