Leaves coriaceous, linear, only slightly narrowed below, gradually narrowed upwards to the very slender, triquetrous, very scabrous tip, with 3 prominent nerves (the midnerve prominent beneath, scabrous, the lateral nerves prominent above), with aculeate-scabrous margins throughout their length, pale green or glaucous, 60-120 by 1½-2½ cm; sheaths dull stramineous to light brown. Scapes lateral, solitary in the leaf-axils or below the leaves, rather robust, trigonous upwards, slightly incrassate at the top, 15-30 cm by 2-4 mm, smooth, the base clothed with some hard, keeled, many-nerved scales up to 8 cm long. Inflorescence capitate, seemingly consisting of a single spikelet because of the large, erect involucral bracts hiding the few to several densely packed spikelets inside, ellipsoid, obtuse, terete, (2-)2½−4½ by (1-)1½−2 cm. Bracts 6-10, the lower ones slightly shorter than, the upper ones about as long as the inflorescence, coriaceous, concave or somewhat keeled, ovate, obtusish, many-striate, greenish, later on fuscescent, 2-3 cm long. Spikelets at first sight hardly distinct from one another, scarcely extending beyond the upper bracts, lanceolate, terete, many-flowered, stramineous, c. 2 by ½ cm. Glumes thinly membranous, pellucid, soon disintegrating into fibers, oblong-lanceolate, indistinctly 1-3-nerved, 1½-2 cm long. Flowers as long as the glumes, the lower ones often sterile or male, only the upper ones fructiferous; outermost scales not winged. Anthers linear, 5-6 mm. Style 3-cleft. Nut ellipsoid or subpyriform, smooth, greyish brown, stipitate (stipe 2-4 mm), acuminate, 5-6 by 3-3½ mm (the 1-2 mm long beak included).
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