Plant laxly to densely cespitose or with short rhizome and stems densely tufted, erect; sometimes stems decumbent, forming new tufts; culms slender, rarely more than 1 mm thick, obscurely trigonous, smooth, 5-45 cm. Leaves shorter or longer than stems, flat, involute, convolute or conduplicate, sometimes (var. nervosa) plano-convex and then often canaliculate, long attenuate, scabrous on margins and nerves at least in upper half, 0.25-3 mm wide, the tip mostly rather acute, triquetrous, rarely flat or plano-convex and blunt (var. nervosa); basal sheaths bladeless, brown. Spikelets narrowly oblong, loosely to very densely flowered, sometimes bracteate, (1-)1½-5½ cm by 2.5-20 mm, the male part 0.5-1.5 cm long Glumes caducous, when young the abscission line often already visible, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, acute, muticous, at least the margins hyaline, greenish or brown, with 3-nerved central stripe but often with several more nerves, 4-6(-8 mm in the Antarctic Is.) by 1.6-3 mm. Utricles shorter to slightly longer than glumes, obliquely erect to patent, lanceolate elliptic or ovoid, with 2 conspicuous submarginal nerves, sometimes slenderly nerved towards the base or striate when these nerves are prolonged, 3.5-6(-7) by 1-2 mm, at the base contracted into a 1-1.5 mm long stipe, at the apex (gradually) narrowed into a 1-2 mm long beak. Nut ellipsoid.
In the tropics in the high mountains, 2000-4300 m, outside the tropics in temperate and cold climates, in open places and in forest.
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