Leaves thickly coriaceous, linear, with the midnerve prominent beneath, and several indistinct lateral nerves, finely transversely wrinkled by very numerous cross-nervules connecting the nerves, slightly narrowed towards the conduplicate base, gradually attenuate to the very slender, triquetrous, aculeate-scabrous tip, densely serrate-scabrous throughout the margins and on the upper half of the keel on the lower side, also aculeate-scabrous on the upper surface in the upper part, glaucous, up to 1 m by 1-2 cm; sheathing base dark castaneous, more rarely shining light brown. Scapes lateral, from the axils of the lower leaves or below the leaves, terete or compressed, slightly thickened at the apex, smooth, 5-30 cm by 1-2 mm, the base clothed with some light brown scales up to 5 cm. Inflorescence always a single spikelet, subglobose to cylindrical, terete, very obtuse when in fruit, 1-4 by 1-1½ cm. Glumes coriaceous, ovate, obtuse, strongly many-nerved, pale brown, with scarious margins, densely purplish puncticulate in the upper half, 7-9 mm long, the upper ones less firm, oblong, several-nerved. Flowers about as long as the glumes; keel of outermost scales sparingly ciliolate. Anthers c. 4 mm. Style 3-cleft. Nut ellipsoid or pyriform, shortly stipitate, fulvous, 5-6 by 2¼-3½ mm, the short recurved beak included.
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