Rhizome long and thick. Culms laxly tufted, 35-100 cm tall, acutely triquetrous, rather stout, stiff, smooth, clothed with red-brown and bladeless sheaths at base, sheaths later usually splitting into reticulate fibers. Leaves shorter than culm, blades 3-4 mm wide, flat, slightly involute and scabrous on margins, with transverse septate nodes between veins, rather long sheathed, lower sheaths laxly pubescent, upper ones glabrous or very laxly pubescent. Lower involucral bracts leafy, slightly shorter than or equaling inflorescence, slightly long sheathed, upper involucral bracts setaceous, very shortly sheathed. Spikes 4-6, upper ones approximate, lower ones rather remote; terminal 2 or 3 spikes male, narrowly lanceolate, 2-4 cm, subsessile; remaining spikes female, oblong-cylindric, 3-5 cm, slightly laxly many flowered, shortly pedunculate. Female glumes pale ferruginous laterally, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 6-8 mm (including awn), membranous, pale 3-veined, apex acuminate, aristate. Utricles greenish, stramineous at maturity, obliquely patent, longer than glume, oblong-lanceolate, slightly inflated trigonous, 8-10 mm, leathery, glabrous, distinctly several veined, base rounded, shortly stipitate, apex gradually narrowed to a short beak, orifice rather long 2-toothed, teeth ca. 1 mm. Nutlets loosely enveloped, broadly ovate, trigonous, ca. 3 mm, base shortly stipitate, apex mucronate; style sometimes curved, base not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.
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