Annual. Stems very slender, densely tufted, com-pressed, smooth, (10-)25-50 cm by ½-1 mm. Leaves reduced to 2-3 sheaths clothing the base of the stem, rather loose, acuminate, scarious-margined, gla-brous, pale green or stramineous, sometimes pro-duced into short, erect blades; ligule absent. Inflorescence simple or subcompound, small, with (1-)3-5(-9) spikelets, 1-2½ by 1-3½ cm. Involucral bracts 3-4, much shorter than the inflorescence, dilated at the base, up to 1 cm long. Rays up to 5, obliquely erect to horizontally spreading, com-pressed, smooth or slightly scabrid, ½-1½ cm long. Spikelets solitary, oblong to linear-lanceolate, angu-lar, acute, loosely several-flowered, 6-10 by c. 2 mm. Rachilla broadly winged. Glumes spiral, membranous, appressed, ovate-lanceolate, acute, mucronate, sharply keeled, with prominent, ciliolate midnerve, nerveless sides, and margins microscopically ciliolate at the top, stramineous or pale brown, 3¾-4 by 2½-3 mm (mucro excluded), the midnerve ex-current in a scabrid, ultimately spreading, 1-1½ mm long awn. Stamens 2; anthers oblong-linear, 1-1½ mm long. Style triquetrous, pyramidally thickened at the base, sparsely short-ciliate, 2-2½ mm; stigmas 3, much shorter than the style. Nut obtusely trigonous, pyriform, abruptly narrowed towards the base, subglose in the upper part, shortly stipitate, umbonulate, coarsely tuberculate, dark brown, c. 1¼ by 1 mm; epidermal cells obscure, almost isodiametric.
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