Dioecious, caespitose perennial herb, forming small tufts to large dense tussocks. Rhizomes shortly horizontal or ascending, slender (c. 3 mm diam.), pubescent with pale hairs to 4–5 mm long, partly covered by glabrous scales that are dark red-brown toward the base, pale and scarious above. Culms simple, terete, straight to sinuose, 25–50 cm tall, slender, 0.5–1.0 mm diam., finely tuberculate, finely striate with ridges over the outer vascular bundles, glabrous, internodes 5–6. Sheaths mostly caducous, oblong, 6–10 mm long, scarious, dark-to light-brown, glabrous; margins pale, membranous; apex obtuse; awn short, 0.5–1 mm long. Inflorescence of 1–4 spikelets which are sessile or on slender branches to 22 mm long; bracts subtending spikelets ovate to oblong, usually persistent, 3–10 mm long, the apex blunt with a short awn. Male spikelets globular, c. 1 cm long; glumes narrow-oblong, c. 3 cm long, blunt, pale brown, ciliate at the apex, with an awn c. 1 mm long; 5–8 lower glumes larger and persistent when upper glumes have fallen. Female spikelets ellipsoidal, 0.8–1.3 cm long and 0.5 cm wide; with c. 15 fertile upper glumes and several sterile lower glumes; glumes ovate, attenuate, 4–5 mm long, c. 2 mm wide, light-to dark-brown, apically ciliate with short white hairs, with a slender black awn 2–3 mm long; spikelets shattering and glumes and flowers readily falling from the axis on drying. Male flowers: tepals 5, membranous; outer tepals oblong, keeled, shortly aristate, 4–4.5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide; inner tepals longer, oblong to narrow spathulate, truncate, c. 5 mm long. Female flowers: tepals 5, membranous; outer tepals lanceolate, keeled, acuminate, 3–3.5 mm long, apically ciliate; inner tepals spathulate to ovate, c. 2 mm long; gynoecium with a single loculus and style. Nut mostly shed with tepals attached, ovoid, dark brown to black, 1.5 mm long with a rounded or conical beak 0.5–1.2 mm long; seed globular, brown, 1 mm long.
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