Perennial. Stems slender, smooth, 40-60(-90) cm by 1-2 mm. Leaves often somewhat aggregated towards the middle of the stem, gradually narrowed to the obtusish tip, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, glaucescent, 1-4 mm wide; sheaths narrow, not winged, usually pubescent in the middle of the sides and glabrous on the angles, more rarely wholly glabrous; contraligule short, obtuse, ovate or triangular, hirsute or ciliate. Inflorescence narrow, very loose, up to 30 cm long, with a terminal panicle and 2-3 distant axillary ones; panicles almost spiciform or somewhat compound, with few spikelets; primary bracts usually much exceeding their panicles. Spikelets bisexual (or a few ♂ ones added?), solitary or in clusters of 2-3, with 1 ♀ flower and a few to several ♂ ones, 3-5 mm long; stamens 1(-2); anthers linear, ¾-½ mm long; glumes ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, cuspidate or mucronulate, ferrugineous. Disk reduced to a narrow, brown, minutely glandular ring concrete with the base of the nut. Nut ovoid or oblong-ovoid, obtusely trigonous, minutely umbonulate, about as long as the glumes, at the base with 3 depressions which are rugulose by transverse, wavy, ferrugineous, minutely glandular ridges, otherwise smooth and shining, 2-2⅔ by 1½-2 mm.
Open places, forest edges, rocky and sandy beaches, at low altitudes, up to 600 m (in New Guinea even up to 1000 m).
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