Rhizome short. Stems tufted, slender to rather stout, ancipitous, smooth, several-leaved up to the top and usually completely hidden by the sheaths, 30-90 cm by 2-5 mm. Leaves overtopping the stems, coriaceous, equitant, ensiform, gradually narrowed upwards and shortly acuminate, smooth, (3-)5-9 mm wide. Panicle erect, oblong, narrow, loose, consisting of 4-6 distant fascicles of branches, 15-30 cm long. Lower bracts long, similar to the leaves, the upper ones much shorter to almost spathiform. Branches 2-5 together, erect, unequal, strongly flexuous, scabrous, usually short, rarely up to 15 cm. Clusters of (usually numerous) spikelets ovoid to globose, very dense, spicately arranged along the rachis, 5-10 mm across. Spikelets ovate, (1-)2-3-flowered, ferrugineous to fuscous, 3-4 by c. 2 mm. Glumes 4-5, ovate, obtuse, hispid in the upper part, ciliate, up to 4 mm long. Bristles absent. Stamens (1-)3; anthers c. 2 mm long; connective shortly produced. Nut broadly ovoid or subglobose, obtusely trigonous, sessile, smooth, brown, 3-3½ by 1½ m (beak included); persistent style-base pyramidal, much narrower than the nut, densely white-sericeous, c. 1½ mm long.
In thickets and forests, in brushwood along river-banks and margins of lakes, on moist rocky slopes, usually below 600 m, on Mt Kinabalu up to 1500 m.
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