Stems very short; leaves tufted, erect, olivaceous, brunneous in drying, broadly linear, 3.5-7.7 cm. long, about 3 mm. wide at the middle, very blunt, fenestrately many-nerved (the fenestrations plainly discernible, more conspicuous beneath and at the base), glabrate; peduncles aggregate, 3 or 4 per plant, slender, brunneous, about 5-costate, slightly or not at all twisted, glabrous; sheaths loose, 4.5-6 cm. long, very obscurely fenestrate and striate, not twisted, obliquely split at the apex, the blade short and blunt, scarious-margined; heads hemispheric, 4-7 mm. in diameter, compressed in drying; involucral bractlets fuscous-nigrescent, obovate (or the outermost subrotund), rounded at the apex, glabrous; receptacle glabrous; receptacular bractlets stramineous below, olivaceous-nigrescent toward-the apex, obovate, acute, short-pilose toward the apex; staminate florets: sepals 3, connate at the very base only, nigrescent, plane or subnavicular, spatulate, obtuse, sparingly pilose on the back at the apex; petal-tube stramineous, its lobes 3, short, unequal, ciliate; stamens 6; anthers black, oblong; pistillate florets: sepals 3, nigrescent throughout, spatulate, navicular-concave, not alate, rounded to subacute at the apex, short-pilose on the back for the upper third and at the apex; petals 3, free, obovate, pale stramineous, black-glanduliferous at the apex, short-pilose within; style as long as the ovary; stigmas 3, twice as long as the style; ovary 3-celled.
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