Herb, perennial, dioecious, rhizomatous, forming extensive diffuse patches. Rhizome elongated, stout, to 30 cm (or more) long, 3–5 mm diam., densely tomentose with pale brown hairs; cluster roots present. Scales scarious, broad-deltoid. Cataphylls several, short (5–10 mm long), broad-deltoid, pale, scarious. Culms at intervals of 1–3 cm on the rhizome, erect, stout, 7–40 cm long, 2–3 mm diam., unbranched, glabrous, smooth when fresh but often irregularly striate when dry; lower internodes short (5–20 mm long); upper internodes (15–) 40–90 mm long. Sheaths few, 2–7, appressed or slightly lax, 5–20 mm long, truncate, with a filiform mucro 1 mm long, scarious, pale, glabrous except for the finely ciliate distal margin. Spathes ovate, 4–6 mm long, scarious. Spikelets 1–few on a culm, sessile or on short pedicels: males 4–7 mm long, with c. 12–25 flowers; females 1–3-flowered; glumes lanceolate, acuminate, c. 3.5 mm long, red-brown with narrow membranous and shortly fimbriate margin. Male flowers: outer tepals narrow-lanceolate, acuminate, c. 3 mm long, keeled; inner tepals shorter, membranous, subacute. Female flowers: shortly petiolate; bracts 2, subequal, 3–4 mm long, keeled; tepals similar to males; styles 3, stout, strongly recurved. Fruit a nut (Meney et al. 1999) but mature fruit and seed not seen.
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