Herb, dioecious, rhizomatous, perennial, forming compact tussocks to 30 cm across or dying in the centre and forming rings to 1 m across; cluster and sand-binding roots present. Rhizome 7–10 mm diam., pilose with dense long dark tan-brown hairs, partially covered by scarious scales with similar dense hairs on the abaxial surface. Cataphylls densely tomentose. Culms spaced 0.5–2 cm apart, erect or spreading, terete, 35–90 cm long, 1.5–2.0 mm diam., smooth, green, glabrous except lowest internodes densely tan-brown tomentose; internodes numerous, 2.5–5 cm long; repeatedly branched, branches erect or flexuose. Sheaths slightly lax, 6–14 mm long, pale chestnut-brown, oblong; apex truncate, apical margin tomentose with white hairs; lamina persistent as a black awn, slightly reflexed, 2–4 mm long; membranous margin c. 0.5 mm wide. Spikelets solitary, terminal or sessile in upper 2–4 axils on culm branches. Male spikelets ovoid, 5–6 mm long; glumes 12–20, the lower glumes sterile; glumes ovate, acute, 1.8–2.3 mm long, brown, ciliate; mucro erect, black, 0.5–1.2 mm long. Female spikelets narrow-ovoid, 5–7 mm long; glumes 7–10, the upper 1–3 fertile, rigid, obovate, c. 3 mm long, tan-brown, ciliate; mucro slender, erect, black, 1.2–2 mm long. Male flowers: tepals 5 or 6; outer tepals cymbiform, apically villous, slightly longer, c. 1.5–1.7 mm long; inner tepals ovate, glabrous; anthers exserted, 1.0–2.0 mm long. Female flowers: tepals 6, membranous, outer tepals 4–5 mm long, 2 outer tepals keeled, acute; inner tepals shorter, obtuse; ovary unilocular, style 1, mostly stigmatic. Nut ovoid, 2–2.5 mm long, c. 1.5 mm wide, finely rugose, pale brown, on a short (c. 0.8 mm) broad axis and with an acute conical beak. Culm anatomy: chlorenchyma continuous, of 1 or 2 layers of elongated peg cells; vessels scattered in the central ground tissue as well as in an outer ring.
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