Herb, dioecious, perennial, glabrous, forming small tufts of culms on short rhizomes. Rhizomes stout, horizontal, c. 5 mm diam.; scales scarious, brown. Cataphylls straw coloured or tan, broad lanceolate or oblong, extending 0.5–4 cm up the culm, apex truncate with a linear lamina 0.8–2.0 (–5.0) cm long. Culms erect, + terete, 13–35 cm long, 0.8–1.5 mm diam., smooth, close-spaced on rhizome (2–5 mm apart); internodes 2 or 3, lowest internode long, 4–12 cm long; upper internodes 5.0–16 cm long. Sheaths scarious, caducous, leaving prominent nodal scars, narrow oblanceolate to oblong, 5.5–12.0 mm long, apex truncate with a lamina 1.0–1.5 mm long. Inflorescence up to 11.5 cm long with flowers crowded on short branches; spathes usually longer than branches, dark brown, 0.7–2.2 cm long; flowers with 2 acuminate-mucronate floral bracts, 1.6–4.0 mm long. Male flowers: inner and outer tepals equal, 4.3–5.1 mm long, lanceolate, acutely tapering, acuminate, rigid, brown, distally with wide hyaline margins; anthers 2.1–2.4 mm long. Female flowers: tepals similar length to males, orange-tan; styles very shortly connate at the base. Seeds white, ellipsoidal, c. 1.3 mm long, with large elliptical raised areas elongated parallel to the long axis of the seed.
Home