Annual with fibrous, yellowish roots. Stems slender, tufted, trigonous below, triquetrous at the top, smooth, 5-30(-40) cm by up to 1 mm. Leaves rigid, flat or canaliculate, gradually acuminate, scabrid at the top, narrow, ½-2 mm wide; lower sheaths purplish. Inflorescence relatively large, simple, loose, rarely subcapitate. Involucral bracts 3-4, obliquely patent, the lower one(s) overtopping the inflorescence, the longest up to 15 cm. Rays 3-6, slender, often capillary, spreading, up to 7 cm, sometimes very short. Spikes broadly ovoid, with (3)5-10(-14) spikelets; rachis glabrous, up to 5 mm. Spikelets widely spreading, the lower ones more or less reflexed, lanceolate to linear, usually slightly curved, acute, strongly compressed, 10-50(-68)-flowered, 1-3(-4½) cm by c. 1½ mm; rachilla slightly flexuous, narrowly winged, persistent; internodes 3/5-¾ mm. Glumes membranous, obliquely erect, sharply keeled, obovate to oblong-obovate, obtuse, muticous, 1/6-¼ imbricate, 1½-1¾(-2) by 1-1¼(-1½) mm; keel fuscous, 3-nerved; sides ferrugineous, nerveless; margins hyaline. Stamen 1; anther linear-oblong, ⅓-2/5 mm. Style c. ½ mm; stigmas 2, short. Nut 2-sided, laterally compressed, on either side with a median longitudinal depression, oblong, somewhat asymmetric, truncate at the shortly spiculate apex, dark brown, 1¼(-1½) by ½ mm; epidermal cells isodiametric.
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