Densely cespitose perennial, 15-60 cm high, stems short to slightly elongate. Leaves erect or in fans, 5-25 cm; sheath dark to pale, red-brown to purple-red, long-ciliate, eligulate or with ligule to 2 mm, blade somewhat to quite flattened, 0.5-3 mm wide, tuberculate-rugose to nearly smooth, punctate, margins thick, scabro-ciliate or tuberculate-scabrid with simple or branched, curved hairs. Scapes distally terete, 0.5-1 mm thick, smooth, often reddish, punctate; spikes ovoid to ellipsoid, aging turbinate, 0.5-1 cm, deep brown, bracts in a spiral, mostly without dorsal area, the sterile ones few, grading into the larger fertile ones, these oblong to narrowly obovate, ecarinate, 6-7 mm, rounded, entire, lacerate with age. Lateral sepals free, subequilateral, narrow, 5-6 mm, dark red-brown, keel nearly entire or lacerate-serrulate from middle up; petals obovate, ca. 6 mm; staminodes bearded; anthers 1.7-2 mm. Capsule ca. 4.5 mm, placentation central-axile, valves with strong septa; seeds ellipsoid-ovoid, ca. 0.5-0.6 mm, dark amber.
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