Rhizome short, descendent, woody. Stems tufted, erect or suberect, slender, triquetrous, often narrowly winged at the top, smooth or finely scaberulous, 5-50 cm by 0.5-1.5 mm, surrounded below the leaves by fuscous sheaths and fibres. Leaves subbasal, longer to much longer than the stems, stiff, flat (but margins revolute when dry), scabrous on the margins, asperous on the upper surface towards the long-attenuate apex, greyish or glaucous-green, 3-10 mm wide. Spikelets 1-3(-4), 5-20 cm distant from one another, lowest sometimes arising from a basal leaf-sheath, androgynous, cylindric, 2-8 cm long, rather laxly 6-18-flowered, on shortly exserted smooth peduncles, the female part 3-7 mm thick, half as long to about as long as the slender male part. Bracts foliaceous, usually overtopping the inflorescence, sheathing. Glumes of the male flowers with free margins or rarely the margins connate in front in the lower 2/3-1/2, those of the female flowers triangular-broadly ovate, rounded to subacute, translucent, many-nerved, with prominent midrib, muticous, minutely ciliolate above, long-persistent, 2½-3 mm long. Utricles ovoid-ellipsoid or ovoid-pyramidal, triquetrous, coriaceous, suberect, strongly many-nerved, straight or slightly curved, with whitish-pubescent margins, greenish-stramineous, 4-7 by 1-2.5 mm, spongy at the base, gradually narrowed into the short, bidenticulate beak. Nut obovoid or ellipsoid, triquetrous, shortly stipitate, abruptly shortly beaked, pale to dark brown with prominent pale angles, 3-4 by 1.5-2 mm. Style-base pyramidally thickened, ciliolate, persistent. Stigmas 3.
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Rhizome long, ligneous. Culms densely tufted, 15-30 cm tall, 1-1.5 mm thick, slender, compressed triquetrous, winged or not, soft, slightly scabrous. Leaves shorter or longer than culm, flat, blades 4-10(-16) mm wide, soft, smooth, with dark brown persistent sheaths. Involucral bracts leaflike, longer than inflorescence, blades 2.5-5 mm wide, long sheathed. Spike single, terminal, or 2 or 3(-7), lateral spikes borne at middle or base of culm, androgynous, cylindric, 1-4 cm, 3-5 mm thick, long pedunculate at middle and rather shortly pedunculate at base; male part of spike usually shorter than female part, rather thin, densely few to many flowered; female part densely many flowered. Female glumes greenish, broadly ovate to oblong, 2-4.4 mm, papery, distinctly 1-3-veined at middle, thinly several veined on both sides, margins membranous, apex acute or acuminate. Utricles green, longer than glume, oblong, trigonous, 4-5 mm, papery, loosely pubescent on upper part, later glabrescent, 2-veined laterally and thinly few veined, base contracted into a short stipe, margins narrowly winged or not winged, loosely ciliate, apex attenuate into a short beak, orifice small 2-toothed. Nutlets oblong, 2.5-3 mm, base contracted into a short stipe, apex beakless; style base slightly thickened or not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jun-Sep.
Primary forest, often in teak-forest, distinctly preferring seasonal climatic conditions, in Borneo on dry serpentine rock (once), at low and medium altitude, from sea-level up to 1500 m.
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