Herb, dioecious, caespitose, perennial. Culms unbranched below the inflorescence, c. 50–130 cm long, ± terete, (0.5–) 1–3.5 mm diam., smooth to slightly-striate, grey-green, with a covering of scale-like trichomes so closely appressed as to often appear glabrous; internodes 8.5–13 cm long. Sheaths 0.5–2 cm long, striate, apex acuminate; lamina narrow, to 7 mm long, caducous; margin membranous, 2.5–4 mm wide, weathering with age. Inflorescence: male spikelets in a loose, drooping terminal fascicle 3–10 cm long, the branches and pedicels slender, whitish when young with a minute tomentum; female inflorescence with up to 50 (–100) erect and often densely clustered spikelets in a narrow fascicle up to 10 cm long. Male spikelets small, numerous, on erect to drooping filiform pedicels, narrow-ovoid, 3–5 mm long, c. 1 mm diam., with 1–3 sterile lower glumes and 9–16 fertile upper glumes; glumes imbricate, lanceolate to ovate, 1.8–3.5 mm long, brown-hyaline with membranous margin, glabrous, acute to acuminate with a short mucro to c. 1 mm long. Female spikelets on erect pedicels, narrow ovoid, 6–10 mm long, 2–2.5 (–4.0) mm diam., with 1 or 2 sterile lower glumes and 10–20 fertile upper glumes; glumes ovate, 2.7–5.0 mm long (with a short straight awn 1–2 mm long becoming recurved and spreading with age), rigid, brown, mostly glabrous, abaxial surface partially covered with trichomes. Male flowers small, compressed: tepals 5 or 6, usually 6, pale brown to hyaline, glabrous; outer tepals keeled, oblanceolate, acuminate, 0.8–1.6 mm long; inner tepals flat, ovate to oblanceolate, acuminate to obtuse, slightly shorter; stamens 3, filaments very short, anthers c. 1 mm long. Female flowers: tepals 6, 1.6–4.2 mm long; 2 outer tepals rigid, acuminate, lanceolate, with a prominent, shortly ciliate keel, brown; 2 inner tepals narrow-lanceolate, acutely acuminate, keeled, brown, shortly ciliate; 2 innermost tepals lanceolate, acuminate, concave, brown, shortly ciliate; style 3-branched, the upper half free and stigmatic. Nut narrow-oblong-ovoid, 1.0–1.7 mm long; pericarp hyaline. Culm anatomy: chlorenchyma interrupted by groups of pillar cells that extend from the parenchyma sheath to the epidermis.
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