Perennial. Rhizome emitting slender stolons rooting at the nodes. Stems solitary, rigidulous, trigonous, smooth, 15-40(-55) cm by 1-1½(-2) mm, few-leaved in the lower ⅓. Leaves rather rigid, canaliculate at the base, otherwise flat, gradually narrowed into the triquetrous, scabrid top, grassgreen or greyish green, 2-4 mm wide; lower sheaths cinnamomeous to reddish. Inflorescence an ovoid or conical, lobed head consisting of 1-4 glomerules, ½-1½ cm across. Involucral bracts 3-5, one long remaining erect, finally all widely spreading to reflexed, up to 30 cm, the dilated base purplish striate, scariously margined. Spikelets numerous, erect to patent, ovate or lanceolate, often curved, 10-16(-24)-flowered, 4-6(-10) by 3-4 mm; rachilla straight, wingless, persistent; internodes ⅓-½ mm. Glumes subcoriaceous, ovate, very densely imbricate, pale brown to castaneous, 3-4 by c. 2 mm; keel acutely prominent to narrowly winged, often scabrid, strongly 3-nerved, produced into a short, slightly excurved mucro; sides obscurely several-nerved. Stamens 3; anthers linear, up to 1½ mm. Style undivided or obscurely 3-lobed, 3-4 mm long, gradually widened into the conical, 3-winged, serrulate base. Nut trigonous, ovoid, dorsally compressed, long-stipitate, apiculate by the c. 1 mm long, persistent style-base, shining brown, 1-1½ by ¾-1 mm; stipe of the nut at first narrowly winged, the wings ultimately strongly incrassate, corky, forming 3 yellowish ridges projecting up the angles of the nut.
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Perennials, stoloniferous. Culms single or laxly tufted, 10-50 cm tall, apically 3-angled to triquetrous, smooth. Leaves shorter than to equaling culm; leaf blade 0.5-4 mm wide, basally folded, apically becoming flat. Involucral bracts 3-5, leaflike, longer than inflorescence, spreading or longest erect. Inflorescences capitate, conic to globose, 5-10 mm in diam., with 5-30 spikelets. Spikelets ovoid to ± narrowly ovoid, 4-10 × 3-4 mm, slightly compressed, 3-or 4-flowered; rachilla wingless. Glumes yellowish brown tinged with dark brown, densely imbricate, ovate, 3-4 × ca. 2 mm, leathery, 3-5-veined and green, midvein scabrid, margin pale, apex acute and mucronate. Stamens 3; anthers linear, 1-1.5 mm; connective apex not prolonged beyond anthers. Style 3-4 mm, gradually widened to a 3-angled or winged base; stigmas 3, much shorter than style. Nutlet ovoid, ca. 1.5 mm, 1/3-1/2 as long as subtending glume, 3-sided, dorsiventrally flattened, scabrid angled, with spongy base of style extending downward along angles of nutlet, apex acute and beaklike. Fl. and fr. ?summer.
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