Perennial, with slender, creeping stolons. Stems erect, in distant tufts, rigid, terete, longitudinally striate-sulcate, not transversely septate, up to 90 cm by 1-2(-3) mm. Sheaths herbaceous or rigidly membranous, appressed, more or less purplish at the base, the uppermost truncate, somewhat thickened at the often dark brown mouth, prominently mucro-nate. Spikelet oblong-ovoid to linear, broader than the stem, terete, acute, rather densely many-flowered, dark brown or variegated with brown, 15-30 by 3-7 mm. Glumes membranous, rather densely imbricate, closely appressed when young, somewhat spreading with age, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-ovate, subobtuse to very acute, faintly keeled, 1-nerved, deep brown or reddish brown with greenish back and whitish, scarious margins, 3½-5½ mm long, the two lowermost firmer, shorter, rounded, empty. Bristles 6-7(-9), rather slender, somewhat unequal, about as long as or slightly exceeding the style-base, strongly retrorsely scabrous, occasionally ill-devel-oped. Stamens 3; anthers linear, 1½-2½ mm incl. the long, prominent appendage of the connective. Style 3-fid. Nut (not present in the only Malesian collection) plano-convex or biconvex, broadly obovate, not costate on the margins, shining yellowish to brown, 1.4-1.8 by 1-1½ mm, the epidermal cells minute, shortly vertically oblong. Style-base ovate or triangular, compressed, cellular, whitish or finally discoloured, 2/5-4/5 by ½-4/5 mm.
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Rhizome woody, 1–2 mm. diam. Culms (1.5)–5–50–(90) cm. × (0.5)–1–2–(2.5) mm. diam., us. crowded in distant tufts, ± erect, terete, striated; lower sheath dark red with an oblique orifice, upper sheath paler, closely appressed to culm, orifice us. truncate or rarely slightly oblique, with dark thickened edge and distinct mucro at back. Spikelet 5–25 × 2–5 mm., cylindrical, acute at tip. Glumes ∞, basal 2 sterile, shorter, broader and paler than rest, upper glumes ovate-lanceolate with hyaline tips. Hypog. bristles (6)–7–(8), some =, some > nut. Stamens 3. Style 3-fid. Nut c. 1.5 × 1 mm., obovoid, biconvex or plano-convex, pale brown, smooth or faintly reticulate; the small persistent style-base triangular, compressed, white or very pale brown.
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