Rhizome short. Culms 15-65 cm tall, trigonous, scabrous above, clothed at base with brown bladeless sheaths. Leaves shorter than culm, blades linear, 1.5-3 mm wide, flat, margins scabrous, often revolute. Basal involucral bracts leaflike, shorter than or equaling inflorescence, sheathless, upper ones setaceous or glumelike. Spikes 3-5, approximate; terminal spike male, narrowly cylindric, 12-30 × 3-5 mm, with peduncle 3-10 mm; lateral spikes female, occasionally some becoming androgynous bearing several male flowers at apex, cylindric or oblong, 10-40 × 5-6 mm, densely many flowered, with peduncles 1-3 cm, slender. Female glumes blackish purple, oblong or narrowly ovate, ca. 2.5 × 0.8-1.3 mm, with light midrib, margins narrowly white hyaline, apex rounded, sometimes acute. Utricles light brown, upper blackish purple, longer than glume, broadly ovate or broadly elliptic, 2.5-3 × ca. 1.7 mm, densely minutely papillose, veined at base, apex abruptly contracted into a short beak, orifice entire. Nutlets castaneous, slightly tightly enveloped, obovate, ca. 2 mm, apex with short beak; style base not thickened; stigmas 2. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.
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