Herb to 44 cm high. Leaves linear, 11.5–30 cm long, 1.0–2.5 mm wide, 4–12-nerved, acuminate, glabrous except for tangled hairs at base. Peduncle 11–44 cm long, with 10–14 ribs, sometimes twisted. Sheath 40–70 mm long. Flower heads globular to depressed-globular, 3.0–6.5 mm long, 4–7.5 mm wide. Involucral bracts hyaline, broadly obovate to ovate, 1.5–2.5 mm long, 0.7–1.9 mm wide, obtuse, glabrous, strongly reflexed at maturity. Floral bracts hyaline, obovate to lanceolate, 1.75–2.5 mm long, 0.7–1.0 mm wide, acute, glabrous or with sparse to dense white hairs in apical third. Receptacle glabrous, conical. Male flowers 1.4–2 mm long; sepals 3, fused but split on one side to form a spathe, black, 1.4–2.0 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm wide, truncate, pubescent with dense apical fringe of white hairs; petals 3, fused for greater part, hyaline, acute, pubescent with dense apical fringe of white hairs; stamens 6; anthers yellow. Female flowers: sepals 3, free, hyaline, equal, linear, 1.0–1.6 mm long, 0.2 mm wide, acute, pubescent with white hairs at apex, sparse hyaline hairs on margin; petals 3, free, hyaline, equal, narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, 0.8–1.3 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, obtuse, glabrous abaxially and pubescent internally with dense white hairs apically and hyaline hairs basally; ovary 3-locular, sessile. Seeds 0.5 mm long, 0.45 mm wide; smooth, lacking sculpturing or epidermal cell outline only faintly visible.
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