Annual with fibrous roots. Stems tufted, setaceous, acutely 5-ribbed, scabrid at the top, 5-15(-25)cm by c. ½ mm, the base clothed with 1-2 tubular, short-bladed sheaths. Leaves much shorter than the stems, rather firm, falcate, flat, obtuse, apiculate, antrorsely spinulose-scabrid on the margins in the upper part, 1½-2 mm wide; ligule absent. Inflorescence simple or subcompound, loose, with (1-)3-8(-15) spikelets, 1-5 cm long. Involucral bracts 2-3, erect, spinulose-scabrid, the lowest often subfolia-ceous, up to 12 mm. Primary rays 3-7, scabrid, up to 3 cm, the longer ones sometimes with ½-1 cm long secondary rays. Spikelets solitary, ovate-oblong, strongly compressed, sometimes contorted, acute, densely many-flowered, brown, (3-)5-10 by 1½-1¾ mm; rachilla winged. Glumes distichous, very small, subchartaceous, obliquely erect, very broadly ovate, obtuse, apiculate or minutely mucronulate, 1-nerved, with sharp keel and ciliolate margins, densely pubescent by very short hairs almost all over, 1¾-2 by 1½-1¾ mm. Stamens 3; anthers oblong-linear, c. ½ mm. Style triquetrous, pyramidally thickened at the base, glabrous, 1-1⅓ mm; stigmas 3, much shorter than the style. Nut obtusely trigonous, with convex sides, obovoid or oblong-obovoid, shortly stipitate, umbonulate, densely verruculose, shining white, ⅔-4/5 by 2/5-½ mm; epidermal cells isodiametric.
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