Herb, dioecious, caespitose, perennial, forming large dense tussocks to 0.8 (–1) m across. Culms usually unbranched below the inflorescence, 35–100 cm long, terete, 0.5–1.5 mm diam., striate and often also pitted, dull grey-green to brown; internodes 5–7.5 cm long. Sheaths 0.6–1.3 cm long, striate to pitted, brown to red-brown, truncate to cuspidate; margin membranous, up to c. 6 mm wide, weathering away; lamina erect, 2–8 mm long. Inflorescence narrow, interrupted, up to c. 20 cm long; spathes with broad hyaline margin. Male spikelets on numerous, fine inflorescence branches. Female spikelets crowded on short branches at the upper nodes. Male spikelets narrow ovoid, 2–3 mm long, brown, not glossy. Female spikelets 2–3 mm long; glumes lanceolate, acute to acuminate, 2–2.5 mm long, brown, glabrous, with a broad membranous margin; floral bracts narrow-lanceolate, c. 1 mm long, margin finely ciliate. Male flowers: tepals 6; 3 outer tepals keeled, lanceolate, acute, 1–1.3 mm long, brown-hyaline, glabrous; inner tepals flat to concave, ovate, acuminate, slightly shorter than the outer tepals, red-brown-hyaline, glabrous; stamens 3, filaments very short, anthers 0.5–0.8 mm long. Female flowers: tepals 5 or 6, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, 1–1.3 mm long, margin membranous; outer tepals often shortly ciliate or fimbriate, keeled; inner tepals with fimbriate margin, usually flat; style 3-branched, the branches wholly stigmatic. Nut trigonous, 0.8–1.2 mm long, yellow-brown, papillate. Seed ellipsoid, c. 0.8 mm long. Culm anatomy: chlorenchyma interrupted by groups of pillar cells that extend from the parenchyma sheath to the epidermis.
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