Probably loosely tufted on a woody, ascending rhizome. Stems erect, stiff, triquetrous, smooth, 50-120 cm by 2-3 mm, at the base surrounded by bladeless to short-bladed, brownish to dark sheaths fraying into fine reticulate fibres. Leaves subbasal, crowded in the lower ⅓ of the stem, flattish with revolute margins, stiff, 4-7(-11) mm wide. Spikelets 4-8, cernuous, upper subapproxi-mate, fastigiate, lower more separated, gynaecandrous usually with short male base, or lower wholly female, cylindric, dense-flowered but often laxer at the base, 3-6(-8) cm long, the female part 5-9 mm thick, the male part 2-3(-5) mm, upper on short, lower on long, smooth peduncles. Lower bracts foliaceous, much to little exceeding the inflorescence, upper setaceous to glumiform, none sheathing but dark-auricled at the base. Glumes elliptic-oblong or oblong-obovate, subobtuse to very obtuse, truncate or bilobed, 2.5-3.5 mm long, dark red with wide, 3-nerved, pale central stripe excurrent in a flat, more or less hispidulous awn up to 1¾ mm long. Utricles ovate to elliptic, plano-convex, membranous, obscurely to distinctly 3-5-nerved on each face, straight, patulous, stramineous, usually densely covered with purplish flecks and minutely granular-puncticulate, scarcely stipitate, gradually beaked, 3-4(-4.5) by 1.5-2 mm; beak short, ½-¾ mm long, entire or slightly emarginate. Nut broadly elliptic or suborbicular, compressed-biconvex, 1½-2½ mm long, brown, shortly stipitate and beaked. Style slightly thickened at the base. Stigmas 2, short.
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Rhizome creeping. Culms 40-90 cm tall, acutely trigonous, smooth, scabrous above, clothed at base with dark purple-red or brown bladeless sheaths. Leaves shorter or slightly longer than culm, blades linear, 4-6 mm wide, flat, margins revolute, scabrous, apex acuminate. Involucral bracts leaflike, equaling or slightly longer than inflorescence, sheathless. Spikes 4-7, subfasciculate, narrowly cylindric, 5-6 cm; upper 1-4 spikes male, sometimes androgynous; remaining spikes usually female, sometimes upper spikes male, lower female, lowest spike with peduncle up to ca. 1 cm. Female glumes dark purple-black, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, green 3-veined costa excurrent into a scabrous awn at entire or emarginate apex. Utricles yellow-brown, ± equaling glume, elliptic, ca. 3 mm, glabrous, veined, apex abruptly contracted into a conic short beak, orifice entire or emarginate. Nutlets laxly enveloped, ovoid, ca. 2 mm; stigmas 2. Fl. and fr. Jun.
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