Rhizome short, without stolons. Culms loosely tufted, 15-20 cm tall, slender, compressed triquetrous, smooth, clothed with yellowish brown and bladeless sheaths at base, sheaths usually disintegrating into fibers. Leaves shorter than culm, blades 1-2 mm wide, flat, smooth, long sheathed. Lowest involucral bracts leaflike, linear, longer than subtending spike, not sheathed or shortly sheathed (2-3 mm), upper involucral bracts setaceous, not sheathed. Spikes 2, congregate at top of culm, androgynous, ovate or oblong, 5-10 mm, densely many flowered, with few male flowers at top of spike, shortly pedunculate or subsessile. Male glumes yellow-brown, narrowly lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, membranous, green 1-veined, apex acuminate; female glumes yellowish, narrowly ovate, 1.5-2 mm, membranous, green 1-veined, apex acuminate, mucronate or aristate. Utricles stramineous, obliquely patent, longer than glume, obovate-elliptic or narrowly elliptic, trigonous, ca. 3 mm, membranous, smooth, nerveless, base acute, apex abruptly contracted into a medium-sized to long beak, orifice truncate or emarginate, membranous, hyaline. Nutlets rather tightly enveloped, elliptic, trigonous, ca. 1.5 mm, base shortly stipitate, apex mucronate; style rather short, base slightly thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. May-Jun.
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