Perennial, glabrous except for the glumes, light green. Stems densely tufted, rigid, obtusely 3-4-angled or subterete, slightly compressed, smooth, 20-40 cm by ½-1 mm, the base clothed with 1-2 bladeless or short-bladed, 1-2 cm long sheaths. Leaves ⅓-½ as long as the stems, falcate, flat, obtuse, apiculate, scabrid on the margins in the upper part, 1½-2 mm wide; ligule absent. Inflorescence simple or subcompound, narrow, rather dense, with 2-7 spikelets, 3-4 cm long. Involucral bracts very short, often glume-like, mucronate, scarious-margined at the dilated base, the lower 1-2 sometimes with a short blade up to 1½ cm. Rays 2-4, suberect, rigid, slightly compressed, smooth, 1-2(-3) cm. Spikelets solitary, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, strongly compressed, acute, often contorted, 8-10 by 2-2½ mm; rachilla broadly winged. Glumes distichous, chartaceous, suberect, oblong-ovate, long-acuminate, sharply keeled, with nerveless sides and whitish hyaline margins, minutely puberulous at the top, dull brown, 3¾-4 by 2 mm. Stamens 3; anthers linear, 1¼-1½ mm. Style very slender, triquetrous, slightly pyramidally thickened at the base, glabrous, 2½-3 mm; stigmas 3, much shorter than the style. Nut trigonous with somewhat convex sides, tricostate, obovoid or broadly obovoid, shortly stipitate, not or hardly umbonulate, smooth, stramineous to brown, ⅔-¾ by 2/5-½ mm; epidermal cells roundish or elliptic.
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