Perennials. Roots fibrous. Rhizomes short. Culms tufted, 2-50 cm tall, obtusely 3-angled, smooth, with a few leaves basally. Leaves shorter or longer than culm; sheath reddish brown at basal part, long; leaf blade 1-2 mm wide, folded or flat. Involucral bracts 2-4, longer than inflorescence, slender. Inflorescence a simple anthela; rays 1-6, mostly to 6 cm, unequal in length, sometimes very short, each with many to rarely few spikelets. Spikelets congested at apex of rays, linear-oblong to linear, 0.3-1.8 cm × 1-3 mm, strongly compressed, radially spreading and forming a globose spike, 6-34(-66)-flowered; rachilla straight, 4-angled, with trabeculae in both lateral sulculi. Glumes yellowish brown, reddish brown, dark purplish red, dark grayish brown, or purplish brown on both surfaces, lax or dense, oblong-ovate, 1.5-2 mm, 3-veined, keel abaxially green, margin narrowly white hyaline, apex obtuse. Stamens 2; anthers oblong, ca. 0.5 mm. Style of medium length; stigmas 2, slender. Nutlet brown to dark grayish brown, obovoid, 0.8-1.2 mm, ca. 1/3 as long as subtending glume, slightly compressed, biconvex, prominently puncticulate, apex mucronate. Fl. and fr. Jun-Nov.
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