Plants perennial, mat-forming. Taproots moderately stout, not woody. Stems spreading to erect, cespitose, green, 3-15 cm, gla-brous, internodes of all stems 0.2-0.6 times as long as leaves. Leaves tightly overlapping, usually connate proximally, with ± loose, scarious to herbaceous sheath 0.2-0.8 mm; blade straight to outwardly curved, green, flat, prominently 1-veined abaxially, linear to subulate, 3-10 × 0.1-1 mm, flexuous, margins not thickened, scarious, smooth, apex green or purple, rounded, navicular, shiny, glabrous; axillary leaves present among cauline leaves. Inflorescences: flowers solitary, terminal; bracts linear to subulate, herbaceous. Pedicels 0.3-1.5(-2) cm, glabrous. Flowers: hypanthium disc-shaped, sepals prominently 3-veined, linear to lanceolate (herbaceous portion linear to lanceolate), 2-3 mm, enlarging slightly in fruit, apex usually purple, acute or rounded, not hooded, glabrous; petals usually absent, if present, rudimentary, linear to oblong, shorter than sepals, apex entire. Capsules ellipsoid, 2-3 mm, equaling sepals. Seeds 0.6-1 mm, brown, suborbiculate with radicle prolonged into beak, somewhat compressed, minutely tuberculate (50×). 2n = 30.
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