Perennial with short woody rhizome. Stems densely tufted, erect, very slender but rigid, terete, obscurely striate, smooth, at least partly with 1-2 nodes about the middle (i.e. with 1 or 2 sheaths between the basal sheaths and the bracts), 25-75 cm by ½-1(-1½) mm, the incrassate base clothed with shining reddish brown sheaths, which are densely woolly bearded at the mouth and end in a usually very short, recurved, subulate point exceptionally lengthened into a setaceous blade up to 5(-15) cm long; cauline leaves 1-2 (often absent in part of the stems), similar to the basal ones, with narrow, dark brown, bearded, ½-1½ cm long sheaths. Inflorescence racemose, rarely subpaniculate, very narrow, loose, usually short, (2-7 cm long), consisting of 2-3 fascicles of branches (occasionally with a distant fascicle lowerdown). Bracts very short, similar to the leaves. Branches solitary or 2-3 together, unequal, erect, compressed, scaberulous, with 1 (rarely 2-3) spike-lets. Spikelets lanceolate, acute, (1-)2-3-flowered, dark brown, 6-9 by c. 1½ mm. Glumes 7-9, lanceo-late, acute, gland-dotted, woolly ciliate on the margins (at length often glabrescent), the fertile ones 6-7 mm long, more or less hairy, the lower 5-6 empty, shorter, mucronulate. Bristles absent, sometimes vestigial. Stamens 3; anthers 2-3 mm; appendage of the connective distinct, dark purplish. Style 4-5 mm long; stigmas 3. Nut obtusely trigo-nous, ovoid or broadly ellipsoid, papillose on the angles at the top, otherwise smooth, brown, blackish blotched, 1¼-1¾ by 1-1⅓ mm.
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