Tufted perennial up to 50(–60) cm. high, stoloniferous.. Stolons up to 5 cm. long, with internodes about 1 cm. long.. Cataphylls 2–3, up to 1.5 cm. long, obtuse, brown and scaly.. Leaves up to 30 cm. long (usually about 15 cm. long), 8 mm. wide, all with blunt, hardened tips; margins ± densely covered with long white hairs, especially when the leaves are young; peduncle with (2–)3 leaves up to 20 cm. long; sheaths up to 4.5 cm. long.. Inflorescence taller than the leaves, consisting of 2–3 erect branches up to 6 cm. long, bearing up to 10 subsessile contiguous spicate capitula, each of 10–20 flowers, giving the appearance of a single, lobed spike; lower bracts leaf-like, longer than the inflorescence, up to 8 cm. long, 3 mm. wide, with very hairy margins; upper bracts lanceolate, about 5 mm. long, scarious, pale, with densely hairy margins; flowers subsessile, each subtended by a bract and 2 bracteoles; bracts triangular, 2 mm. long, 1.25 mm. wide at the base, membranous, pale, with margins very deeply lacerated; bracteoles about as long as the bracts, with deeply lacerated margins, membranous, reddish.. Perianth-segments entire, lanceolate, sharply pointed, dark reddish-brown, sometimes almost black; outer segments 2.5–3 mm. long, 1 mm. wide; inner segments 2–2.5 mm. long, 1 mm. wide.. Stamens 6; filaments linear, 1–1.25 mm. long; anthers linear, 0.75–1 mm. long.. Ovary trigono-globose; style 0.5 mm. long; stigmas 1.5 mm. long.. Capsule shortly apiculate, subglobose, 2 mm. long, 1.5 mm. in diameter, dark reddish-brown above.. Seeds ovoid, 0.75 mm. long, very shortly tailed, reddish-brown.
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