Perennial herb (but see note below) forming dense clumps including the fibrous remains of old leaf-sheaths.. Leaves up to 50 cm. long, 2.5–4 mm. wide; sheaths gradually tapering from the base, black to brown, sometimes splitting into persistent bristles when old, usually rugulose, margins sometimes ciliate; ligule rounded, 2–3 mm. long; lamina linear, minutely papillose, more strongly so on the margins; apex solid, acute-incurved.. Peduncles 60–100 cm. long, 2–3 mm. in diameter, terete with 2 longitudinal papillose ridges; spike subglobose, 0.8–1.5 cm. in diameter; sterile bracts suborbicular, coriaceous, blackish brown, papillose particularly above, ± 7 mm. long, 6 mm. wide, including a pale membranous fimbriate margin and a black rigid acumen; fertile bracts similar, or more papillose and with a shorter acumen.. Lateral sepals ± 5 mm. long, arcuate, papyraceous, dark brown with paler membranous margins and a blackish papillose acumen, keel irregularly erose-ciliate; corolla-tube 4 mm. long; lobes obovate, 4.5 mm. long, 4 mm. wide, apex irregularly toothed.. Filament ligulate, 1 mm. long; anthers 2 mm. long; staminodes 2–3 mm. long.. Ovary obovoid, 2 mm. long, 1 mm. in diameter; style 3 mm. long, branches 2.5 mm. long; stigmas fimbriate.. Seeds broadly ellipsoid, ± 0.5 mm. long, 0.35 mm. in diameter, with ± 12 longitudinal ridges joined by weak transverse ridges.. Fig. 1/3.
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