Herb, dioecious, caespitose, perennial, mostly forming narrow-based plants of few or many culms; cluster and sand-binding roots present. Cataphylls straw-coloured, short, c. 1 cm long. Culms erect, terete, smooth to slightly striate, glabrous or pubescent, with long villous hairs, to 65 cm long, 0.5–2.0 mm diam.; internodes numerous, often partly exposed and not hidden by branchlets; branchlets numerous, slender, usually flexuose or tightly curled to expose internode; branchlets 6–35 per node, to 11 cm long. Sheaths lax, often reflexed, ovate to spathulate, 10–27 mm long; apex obcordate; lamina erect, 2.5–11 mm long. Inflorescences: male and female inflorescences similar, sessile, terminal and axillary on primary and secondary branchlets. Male spikelets borne singly or in pairs, ovoid, 3.0–6.5 mm long; subtending bract c. ⅓ length of spikelet; mucro 0.8–1.0 mm long; glumes 12–22, narrow-elliptic, glabrous, acuminate, 1.5–2.3 mm long; mucro 0.3–1.2 mm long. Female spikelets borne singly, narrow-ovoid, 7.2–8.0 mm long, 1-flowered; subtending bract 1.5–2.1 mm long, c. ½ length of spikelet, with a mucro 1.1–2.5 mm long; glumes 4–6, broad-ovate, acute, 2–5.3 mm long, abaxial surface occasionally partially villous; mucro to 2.2 mm long, thin, brown, glabrous. Male flowers: tepals 5, scarious, oblanceolate, acute, apex blunt, ± equal in length, 1.5–2.8 mm long; anthers 0.9–1.3 mm long. Female flowers: 1–5 tepals occasionally present; ovary unilocular, style 1, mostly stigmatic. Nut narrow-ovoid, 2– 2.5 mm long, dark brown with pale lateral lines; with a short stipe and the style forming a conical beak. Culm anatomy: chlorenchyma continuous.
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