Plants forming compact tufts, 0.5-1 m tall; rhizome very short with culms aggregated at base or looping up with clusters of culms on the uploops. Fertile culms unbranched, smooth, olivaceous, diameter at apex 0.7-1.1 mm. Sheaths closely convoluted, 40-70 mm long, reddish-brown, apical margins broadly chartaceous and soon decaying. Male inflorescence 50-70 x 30-50 mm, paniculate, with 11-20 spikelets; spathes persistent, shorter than spikelets, chartaceous, upper margins lacerated and largely decayed at anthesis; spikelets pendulous on flexible pedicels, oblong or elliptical, apex rounded, 10-16 x 4-6 mm, with 20-30 flowers, pedicels as long as or longer than spikelets, flattened; bracts oblong or ovate, acute, taller than flowers, 5-10 mm long, with broad membranous-hyaline margins and chartaceous brown central part. Male flower 4-4.5 mm long; tepals all same length, linear to oblong, glabrous, outer lateral tepals conduplicate; anthers 1.5-1.8 mm long, included in the flowers. Female inflorescence racemose, 25-60 x 10-20 mm, with 1-5 spikelets; spathes shorter to as long as the spikelets, persistent, chartaceous; spikelets oblong or obtriangular, apex truncate or rounded, 20-35 mm long, with 15-25 flowers, with 0 sterile bracts; bracts at least twice as long as flowers, 13-28 mm long, oblong or ovate, acute, chartaceous. Female flower 4.5-7 mm long, without a fleshy pedicel; tepals cartilaginous, glabrous and smooth, at least as tall as nut, wrapped around it and obscuring the surface, apices acute, inner whorl shorter than outer; outer lateral tepals wings entire, decurrent with flower stipe, wider than tepal body, exserted past bracts, 4.5-6.5 mm long; odd outer tepal oblong, 4-6 mm long; inner tepals oblong, 3-4 mm long. Staminodes absent; style 1, plumose, white; ovary with 1 locule, indehiscent. Nut 3 x 1.7 mm, oblong, elliptical in cross section, black, smooth; perianth persistent, winged, enclosing nut; diaspore oblong, narrower than long; elaiosome absent.
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