Herb, perennial, dioecious, caespitose, forming dense tussocks c. 20 cm across; base pilose with pale hairs; cluster roots present. Cataphylls similar to culm sheaths but shorter, glabrous. Culms erect, straight, compressed, unbranched, 60–85 cm long, 1.3–2.2 mm wide, striate, glabrous, bright green; internodes few, 8–25 cm long. Sheaths closely appressed, c. 7–15 mm long, glabrous, scarious-hyaline, brown, with narrow-elliptic auricles 5 mm long; lamina 10–15 mm long, 2–2.5 mm wide, truncate, often weathering away; ligule area marked by a change in surface texture but not by a ridge or flap. Inflorescence with short, slender, erect branches at several closely spaced upper nodes; branches bearing several spikelets on filiform pedicels. Male spikelets narrow acute-ovoid, 4–5 mm long; glumes lanceolate, acute, dull tan-brown, glabrous or very shortly ciliate, to 4 mm long, lower glumes shorter. Female spikelets ovoid, 5–7 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, with 9–15 sterile lower glumes and 1 or 2 fertile upper glumes; glumes similar to males; a few of the lowest glumes with a very short, blunt mucro. Male flowers: tepals 6, narrow-lanceolate, hyaline, glabrous; 2 outer tepals keeled, 3–3.5 mm long; 3rd outer tepal and inner tepals flat, slightly shorter; stamens 3; filaments c. 1 mm long, anthers c. 1.3–1.8 mm long, not exserted. Female flowers: tepals 6, concave, glabrous, red-brown with broad hyaline margin, lanceolate, acute, 3–5 mm long; staminodes 3; ovary trilocular; styles 3, shortly connate at the base. Capsule trilocular, c. 1.2 mm long. Seed ellipsoid, c. 0.9 mm long, pale brown.
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