Plants usually extremely densely tufted, forming turf or cushions. Basal sheaths persistent, brown or pale brown, dull, not retaining dried leaf blades. Culms stiffly erect, obtusely trigonous, very short, (0.4-)1-10 cm tall, ca. 0.5 mm in diam. Leaves basal, ca. as long as culms; blades erect, filiform, 0.3-0.5 mm wide, margin involute. Inflorescence a dense ovoid spike, brown, 0.3-10 × 0.1-0.3 cm, androgynous; lowest involucral bract glumelike, apex sometimes shortly aristate; all spikelets unisexual, terminal spikelets male, lower ones female (occasionally with a sterile glume within prophyll). Male glumes brown, oblong-lanceolate, ca. 4 × 1.8 mm, membranous. Female glumes brown, with yellowish green to green midvein, ovate or oblong-ovate, 2-3.5 × 2-2.5 mm, papery, midvein broad, margin narrowly hyaline, apex acute or obtuse. Prophylls brown, oblong or elliptic, 2-2.5 × 1-1.2 mm, membranous, 1-or 2-keeled, keels smooth or slightly scabrid, margins free to base, sometimes overlapping, apex truncate. Nutlets brown to dark brown, shiny, obovoid, trigonous, 1.5-2 × ca. 1 mm, very shortly beaked and stipitate. Stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. May-Sep.
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