Glabrous annual forming dense tufts. Stems setaceous, striate, slightly compressed, smooth, 5-10 by ⅓ mm. Leaves about as long as the stems or somewhat longer, filiform, curved, very acute, smooth except for the scabrid top, with membranous, stramineous or brownish sheaths, ¼-⅓ mm wide. Inflorescence always consisting of a single terminal spikelet. Spikelet erect, oblanceolate or narrowly oblong, angular, acute, few-or several-flowered, pale, fuscous-variegated, 5-7 by 2 mm, usually ebracteate but sometimes subtended by an up to 1 cm long bract. Glumes spiral, thinly membranous, erect, oblong-lanceolate, acutish, sharply keeled, shortly mucronulate, with 3-5-nerved keel, whitish stramineous, fuscous-variegated, nerveless sides and hyaline margins, 3 by 1 mm. Stamens (1-)2-3; anthers linear, 1-1½ mm. Style very slender, flat, not hyaline-margined, scarcely dilated at the base, glabrous, 1-1½ mm; stigmas 2, somewhat shorter than the style. Nut biconvex, with acute edges, narrowly obovate, shortly stipitate, minutely um-bonulate, smooth, obscurely reticulate by the minute, not impressed epidermal cells, whitish, 7/10-4/5 by ½ mm.
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