Plants tufted, 0.5-1 m tall. Fertile culms borne on short, spreading, unbranched or sparsely branched rhizomes; culms unbranched, smooth, olivaceous, diameter at base 1.7-2.8 mm, 1.4-2 mm at apex. Sheaths closely convoluted, acute or obtuse or rounded, 20-30 mm long, apical margins narrowly membranous; mucro awl-or needle-shaped, straight and erect, 3.5-6 mm long. Male inflorescence 20-25 x 15-25 mm, with 2-10 paniculate spikelets; spathes persistent or caducous, taller than spikelets, cartilaginous, awned; spikelets elliptical or ovate, rounded or obtuse or acute, 8-11 x 3.5-5 mm, with 10-20 flowers; bracts as tall as or taller than flowers, 2.5-4 mm long, square, truncate or rounded, coriaceous or cartilaginous, bract upper margin like body of bract, bract awn minute or absent. Male flower 2.5-3 mm long; tepals all same size, oblong, glabrous; outer whorl cartilaginous or membranous, laterals conduplicate; inner whorl membranous; anthers 1.3-1.5 mm long, exserted from the flowers. Female inflorescence 20-50 x 8-20 mm, linear, with 2-10 spikelets; spathes longer than and obscuring the spikelets, persistent, cartilaginous; spikelets sessile, elliptical, acute, 9-18 mm long, with 2-4 flowers and 2 sterile bracts; bracts taller than flowers, 5-8 mm long, square or ovate, obtuse or acute, coriaceous or cartilaginous, apical margin like rest of bract or somewhat darker, awn minute or absent or less than half as long as the bract body. Female flower 5.5-6 mm long, without a fleshy pedicel; tepals chartaceous or cartilaginous, glabrous and smooth, apices acuminate; outer lateral tepals conduplicate or keeled or winged, wings entire, narrower than body, 5-6 mm long; inner tepals ovate, 3-5 mm long; staminodes absent; styles 2, feathery, red, bases free; ovary unilocular. Fruit unknown.
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