Perennial forming clumps; rhizomes sometimes present, upright or ascending.. Leaves 3–18 cm. long, 1 mm. wide; sheaths pale brown, smooth, glabrous, gradually tapered to the apex; ligule absent; lamina flattened, glabrous, smooth or with minutely denticulate margins; apex solid, acute, sometimes incurved.. Peduncle 10–26 cm. long, smooth, terete, weakly 2-ridged above; spike ellipsoid, 5–6 mm. long; bracts dark brown, with an almost black midrib forming a keel towards the apex and excurrent as a mucro; lowest sterile bracts elliptic, ± 2.5 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; upper sterile bracts elliptic, 3.5 mm. long, 2 mm. wide; fertile bracts 4.5 mm. long, 2.5 mm. wide.. Lateral sepals slightly curved, ± 5.2 mm. long, 1 mm. wide; pale brown, keel entire, very dark, particularly towards the apex; corolla-lobes suborbicular, ± 4.5 mm. in diameter, apex (?always) dentate.. Filaments ± 1 mm. long; anthers 1.5 mm. long; staminodes much-branched, forming dense tufts of hairs.. Ovary obovoid, ± 3 mm. long; style 5.5 mm. long in total, branches 2.5 mm. long; stigmas peltate, many-lobed.. Seeds ellipsoid, 0.6–0.7 mm. long, with ± 12 longitudinal ridges.
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