Perennial. Stems loosely to densely tufted, very slender and weak, often decumbent at the base and rooting at the nodes, filiform, subterete, striolate, smooth, leafy up to the top, often branched, 4-20(-30) cm by ⅓-½ mm. Leaves filiform, spreading or ascending, canaliculate, scaberulous on the mar-gins, 1-3 cm by c. ½ mm, gradually passing into the leafy bracts; sheaths more or less purplish, those of the cauline leaves up to ½ cm. Inflorescence racemose, narrow, very loose, consisting of 3-4 distant fascicles of branches. Branches 1-3 together, very short, not or hardly exserted from the sheath, each bearing 1-2(-4) spikelets. Spikelets ovate-lanceolate, acute, glabrous, stramineous to purplish, 1-2-flowered, 2-4 by 1-1½ mm. Glumes 3-5, lanceolate, obtusish, with slightly scaberulous keel, the fertile ones 2-3½ mm long the lower 1-2 empty, shorter. Bristles (3-)6, capillary, antrorsely scabrous, about as long as to distinctly longer than the nut, whitish. Stamens (2-)3; anthers yellow, c. 1½ mm long, with short whitish appendage of the connective. Style 1-2 mm long; stigmas 3, about as long as to somewhat longer than the style. Nut trigonous, ovoid or ellipsoid, 3-ribbed, apiculate, minutely scrobiculate to almost smooth, whitish to stramineous, 1-1⅓ by ⅔-4/5 mm.
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Small, flaccid, tufted or spreading, green and lfy. Culms (3)–5–15–(20) cm. × c. 0.5 mm., often trailing and rooting at the nodes, branched towards the tip, bright green. Lvs 1–3.5 cm. × 0.5–1 mm., almost flat, alternate, spreading, obtuse, margins us. slightly toothed towards lf-tip; sheath enclosing c. ⅓ internode, membr., often red-purple. Spikelets 1–3 in the axils of the lvs, 2–3 mm. long, 1–2-fld, light brown or reddish purple, sessile or on short, scabrid stalks. Glumes 5, ovate-lanceolate, ± obtuse, 2 lowest smaller, empty, membr., mucronate, 1–2 upper glumes fertile, margins hyaline, median nerve pale green. Hypog. bristles 6, rarely fewer, white or yellow-brown, thread-like, slightly > or occ. < nut persistent. Stamens 3. Style-branches 3. Nut c. 1 mm. long, slightly < 1 mm. wide, elliptic-ovoid, white, angles green and thickened, tip acute, occ. with a small trigonous, persistent style-base.
On wet rocks, on sunny seepages, in open grassy places, often growing with mosses, 1800-3600 m.
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