Slender, solitary to cespitose, soft-to-firm-based, perennial, 20-100 cm high, stems short or elongate to 6 cm. Leaves erect or in fans, 10-30 cm, sheath ciliate or not, tan to castaneous, upwards pink, brown or stramineous, smooth, eligulate, keel smooth to ciliolate, blade strongly flattened, 2-5 mm wide, margins thin, entire or ciliolate. Scapes distally subterete or oval, 1-2 mm wide with 1, 2 or more ribs, one strong, often making an edge, ciliate to densely ciliolate-scabridulous, otherwise smooth; spikes broadly ellipsoid becoming broadly obovoid to globose, 0.7-1.3 cm, bracts in a spiral, firm, red-brown, without distinct dorsal area but broadly and friably red-bordered, empty bracts few, smaller than and grading upward into the flowering ones, these broadly oblong to obovate, 6-8 mm, back convex or somewhat keeled near apex. Lateral sepals up to 1/3 connate or some pairs free, subequilateral, 6-7 mm, the narrow curved keel rusty-ciliolate to low-serrulate-lacerate from about middle to apex; petals elliptic to obovate, 4-5 mm; staminodes bearded; anthers 1.5-2 mm. Capsule 3.5-4 mm, placentation basal, valves eseptate; seeds numerous, cylindric-fusiform, ca. 1 mm, amber.
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