Rhizome with stolons. Culms 40-60 cm tall, slightly thick, acutely triquetrous, scabrous on upper angles, basal sheaths usually disintegrated into fibers. Leaves nearly equaling culm, blades 4-8 mm wide, flat, rather stiff, scabrous on margins, sheathed. Involucral bracts leaflike, lower involucral bracts nearly equaling subtending spike, upper involucral bract shorter than subtending spike. Spikes 4-6, lowermost spike remote, upper spikes rather approximate; terminal spike male, cylindric, 4-7 cm, pedunculate; lateral spikes female, cylindric, 2-7.5 cm, densely many flowered, lower spikes long pedunculate, upper spikes subsessile. Female glumes red-brown, ovate-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, membranous, green 1-veined, apex acuminate, mucronate or aristate, scabrous on awn. Utricles greenish yellow, longer than glume, obliquely patent, elliptic, trigonous, ca. 3 mm, papery, glabrous, 5-7-veined, base attenuate, apex abruptly contracted into a medium-sized to long beak, beak slightly recurved, upper part red-brown, obliquely truncate and later shortly 2-toothed at orifice. Nutlets dark brown, slightly loosely enveloped, broadly obovate or subelliptic, trigonous, ca. 1.7 mm; style base not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Apr-Jul.
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