Herb 7–15 cm high. Leaves linear, 5–12 cm long, 3–5.5 mm wide, 10–17-nerved. Peduncle 5–14 cm long, rarely ± sessile. Sheath 40–95 mm long. Flower heads ovoid to hemispherical, 4–8.5 mm long, 4.5–6 mm wide. Involucral bracts hyaline or black with straw-yellow midvein and base, sometimes hyaline at apex, lanceolate or elliptic to broadly obovate, 2–3.2 mm long, 1.25–2.5 mm wide, obtuse to acute, glabrous, strongly reflexed at maturity. Floral bracts hyaline, often with dark apex, oblanceolate, 1.5–2 mm long, 0.5–0.9 mm wide, acute, glabrous. Receptacle glabrous or sparsely hairy, conical. Male flowers 1.2–2 mm long; sepals absent; petals absent or 2, hyaline, triangular, obtuse, glabrous or pubescent with hyaline hairs in apical fringe; stamens 4; anthers black. Female flowers dimorphic with upper flowers lacking sepals; sepals absent or 2, rarely 1, hyaline with dark apex and wing margin, navicular, with broad dorsal wing, 1.2–1.5 mm long, 0.6–1 mm wide, truncate to crested with 2 lobes, glabrous or pubescent with sparse to dense, pilose hyaline hairs on inside and outside of orifice; petals 2, hyaline, sometimes with dark apex, equal or dimorphic with one slightly smaller, spathulate on narrow stalk, 1.5–2.5 mm long, 0.75–1 mm wide, bifid or irregularly serrate, glabrous; ovary 2–locular. Seeds 0.4–0.45 mm long, 0.23–0.3 mm wide; epidermal cells transversely elongated, unidirectional peg-like projections on transverse walls.
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