Rhizome rather slender, ligneous. Culms tufted, 25-70 cm tall, triquetrous, smooth, clothed with red-brown bladeless or shortly bladed sheaths at base. Leaves basal, shorter or longer than culm, blades 3-5 mm wide, with 2 distinct lateral veins, smooth, scabrous on upper margins; sheaths red-brown, splitting at membranous part. Involucral bracts leaflike, usually longer than subtending spike, sheathed, with liguliform or semiorbicular ligule at mouth of sheath. Spikes 5-8; terminal 1 or 2 spikes male, oblong or narrowly cylindric, 1-3 cm; remaining spikes androgynous, female part longer than male part, cylindric or lanceolate, (1.5-)3-6 cm, densely many flowered; peduncles slender, lowest peduncle 5-11 cm, upper ones rather short. Female glumes cinereous-green at middle, brownish on sides, ovate, ca. 2.5 mm (excluding length of arista), membranous, 3-veined, apex mucronate or aristate. Utricles yellowish green, brownish near base, much longer than glume, obliquely patent, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, obtusely trigonous or plano-convex, 6-7 mm, shiny, 7-veined abaxially, base cuneate, shortly stipitate, apex abruptly contracted into a long beak, spinulose on margins of beak. Nutlets pale yellow, rather tightly enveloped, obovate-elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, base shortly stipitate, apex mucronate; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Apr-May.
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