Plants perennial, densely cespitose, 20–50 cm; rhizomes absent. Culms erect to excurved, lax, filiform, leafy, ± terete. Leaves exceeded by culm, ascending; blades filiform, ± terete, margins strongly involute, apex trigonous, sulcate, tapering. Inflorescences: spikelet clusters mostly 2–3, sparse to dense, oblong to broadly or narrowly turbinate; leafy bracts setaceous, exceeding clusters. Spikelets pale red brown, lanceoloid, 3–3.5 mm, apex acute; fertile scales mostly elliptic, 2–2.5 mm, apex acute, sometimes apiculate. Flowers: bristles mere nubs or 1–2, to 0.3 mm. Fruits mostly 2 per spikelet, 1.5–1.6 mm; body red brown with pale center, lenticular, broadly obovoid to orbicular, margins pale, narrow, flowing to tubercle; surfaces smoothish, or faintly cancellate; tubercle flattened, triangular subulate, 0.3–0.5 mm.
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