Glabrous perennial with short, woody rhizome. Stems densely tufted, rather rigid, obtusangular, somewhat compressed at the top, striate, smooth, 40-50 cm by 1-1½ mm, the base clothed with 1-2 tubular, bladeless or very short-bladed, obliquely truncate sheaths. Basal leaves somewhat shorter than the stems, rather rigid, flat, gradually narrowed towards the abruptly acuminate apex, scabrid on the margins, 2½-3 mm wide; ligule absent. Inflorescence decompound or supradecompound, large, loose, diffuse, with numerous spikelets, up to 10 cm long and wide. Involucral bracts 4-5, setaceous, erect or slightly recurved, much shorter than the inflorescence, 2-3 cm long. Primary rays 6-10, obliquely patent, compressed, smooth, 4-6 cm long. Spikelets solitary, lanceolate, terete, acute, several-flowered, rufous or fuscous, 3-6 by 1¼ mm; rachilla broadly winged. Glumes spiral, subchartaceous, broadly ovate, obtuse, apiculate or mucronulate, slightly keeled, with 3-nerved keel, nerveless sides, and narrow, hyaline margins, c. 2 by 1¾ mm. Stamens 3; anthers oblong-linear, ⅔ mm. Style triquetrous, slightly thickened at the base, glabrous, or sparsely ciliate at the top, 1¼ mm; stigmas 3, somewhat shorter than the style. Nut obtusely trigonous, broadly ellipsoid or slightly obovoid, broadly stipitate, not umbonulate, densely verrucose, indistinctly reticulate by the somewhat impressed, transversely elliptic epidermal cells, shin-ing, greyish white, 3/5-7/10 by ½ mm.
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