Rhizome emitting short to rather long, horizontal stolons clothed with reddish, ribbed scales. Stems erect, triquetrous, scabrid above, 3-40 (-75) cm by 1-1.5 mm. Leaves subbasal, often longer than the stem, somewhat rigid, flat or canaliculate, scabrid on the margins, 1.5-4 mm wide, with involute margins when dry, the lower reduced to reddish to blackish red sheaths. Spikelets 3-6, approximate to rather distant, cylindric, terminal male, 1-4 cm by 2-3 mm, peduncled, sometimes a second smaller one immediately under it also male, remainder female (or sometimes with a few male flowers at the top), sessile or lowest very shortly peduncled, suberect, (1-)2-4(-6) by 3-4(-6) mm, densely flowered. Lower bracts foliaceous, usually overtopping the inflorescence, not sheathing, dark-auricled at the base, upper much reduced. Glumes ovate or oblong-ovate, obtuse to rather acute, reddish to blackish red, with a central 3-nerved pale stripe, 2-3.5 mm long, the midrib sometimes very shortly excurrent. Utricles elliptic, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, compressed, plano-convex, obliquely erect, submembranous, strongly 5-7(-9)-nerved on the dorsal, 3-5-nerved on the ventral face, glabrous, green, becoming brownish, often minutely reddish-puncticulate especially towards the apex, scarcely stipitate, subabruptly beaked, 2-3(-3.5) by 1-1.5 mm; beak short, entire or bidenticulate. Nut elliptic, obovate, or suborbicular, compressed, biconvex or plano-convex, shortly stipitate and apiculate, brown, 1.5-2 mm long. Style not or scarcely thickened at the base. Stigmas 2.
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Rhizome ascending; tufts flaccid. Rhizomes 1.5–2 mm. diam., often long-creeping. Culms variable in size, (2)–6–32 cm. × 0.3–1 mm., trigonous, almost glab., but often slightly scabrid just below the infl.; basal sheaths light brown or grey-brown. Lvs ∞, < or us. > culms, (0.5)–1–2.5 mm. wide, double-folded, grasslike, keel, margins and nerves on adaxial surface slightly scabrid towards tip. Infl. of 3–5 spikes, ± approximate, us. sessile; uppermost spike male, occ. compound with a smaller male spike near its base; lower spikes female, often male at the top, 0.5–1.5–(2) cm. × 2–5 mm., us. < male spikes. Glumes < utricles, ovate, subacute, dark brown to almost black, coriac., midrib narrow to broad, green, scarcely reaching tip of glume. Utricles 2.5–4 × 1.5–2 mm., narrow-ovoid to orbicular-ovoid, gradually tapering above, much compressed, green with minute red-brown spots when mature, conspicuously nerved, margins smooth; beak almost wanting, orifice entire or minutely bidentate; stipe < 0.5 mm. long. Stigmas 2. Nut 1.5–2 mm. long, biconvex, orbicular-ovoid, dull grey.
Flaccid, narrow-leaved grass-like tufts of variable size from 6-30 cm high; rhizome far-extending. Inflorescence of 3-5 small, very dark brown, ± approximate sessile spikes. Utricle-beak minute. Stigmas 2.
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