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Plants aggregated in dense tussocks; rhizomes branching, short, tough, fibrous. Culms: fertile ones upright or nearly so; nodes without axillary bulblets. Leaves 5–10 per culm; sheaths of proximal leaves green to red-brown; proximal sheaths and blades with septa few to many, conspiucuous or inconspicuous; blades 22–80 cm × 3–10 mm. Inflorescences terminal; rays ascending or sometimes spreading, scabrous throughout or main branches smooth proximally, rays without axillary bulblets; bases of involucral bracts reddish brown, brownish, or blackish, not glutinous. Spikelets in dense cymes of 2–15, central spikelet of each cyme sessile, others sessile or pedicellate, spikelets broadly ovoid, ovoid, or sometimes cylindric, 3.5–8 × 2.5–3.5 mm; scales reddish brown, brownish, or blackish, ovate or narrowly ovate to oblong-ovate or oblong-elliptic, 1.1–2.2 mm, apex apiculate or short-mucronate, apiculus or mucro to 0.1 mm. Flowers: perianth bristles persistent, 6, slender, contorted, much longer than achene, smooth, projecting beyond scales, mature inflorescence appearing woolly; styles 3-fid. Achenes whitish to very pale brown, elliptic or obovate in outline, plumply trigonous or plano-convex, 0.6–0.9 × 0.3–0.5 mm. 2n = 66.
A sedge. These grow in clumps and have grass like leaves and solid stalks. It is a tall rush. It grows 2 m high. It has large fluffy brown heads.
