Plants perennial, mat-forming; rhizomes evident, long, 0.7–1 mm thick, soft, cortex persistent, longer internodes 2–6 cm, scales often fugaceous, 5–9 mm, membranous, not fibrous. Culms terete, often with 8–14 blunt ridges when dry, 10–50 cm × 0.5–3 mm, very soft, internally spongy. Leaves: distal leaf sheaths persistent, often splitting abaxially, mostly reddish proximally, green to stramineous distally, not inflated, not callose, membranous, apex obtuse, tooth absent. Spikelets ovoid, 5–20 × 3–5 mm, acute; proximal scale clasping 2/3 of culm, entire; subproximal scale empty; floral scales often spreading in fruit, 15–80, 5 per mm of rachilla, medium brown, midrib regions stramineous or greenish, ovate, 2.5–4 × 1.5–2 mm, entire, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes carinate in distal part of spikelet. Flowers: perianth bristles (4–)5–6(–8), brown, slender to stout, mostly exceeding tubercle, to 2 times longer than achene; stamens 3; anthers stramineous, 0.9–1.5 mm; styles 2-fid. Achenes not persistent, yellow maturing to stramineous, biconvex, angles obscure, obovoid (to obpyriform), 1–1.4 × 0.9–1.3 mm, apex rounded, neck absent, smooth at 30X. Tubercles brown to partly whitish, pyramidal to mamillate, lower than to as high as wide, 0.2–0.6 × 0.4–0.6 mm. 2n = 16.
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