Grass-like tufts to 30 cm high; rhizome short, woody. Inflorescence a compact head 1-1.5 cm long, of light to dark brown, close-packed, sessile spikes. Male flowers at top of spike. Utricles papillose, winged. Stigmas 2.

Grasslike tufts from a short, woody rhizome. Culms 7–30 cm. × c. 1 mm., trigonous, grooved, mainly smooth but very faintly scabrid just below infl.; basal sheaths light brown. Lvs 5–7 per culm, <, = or > culms, c. 2.5 mm. wide, channelled, margins slightly scabrid towards the tip. Infl. a compact head 1–1.5 × c. 0.7 cm., of densely packed spikes, light or dark brown. Spikes androgynous, 1–3 male fls at the top, lowermost 1–3 spikes each subtended by a membr. lanceolate bract with a long scabrid awn occ. longer than infl. Glumes slightly > utricles, ovate, acuminate or occ. awned, membr., chestnut brown or light brown, keel green, scabrid in lowermost glumes, margins hyaline, occ. very broad towards tip of glume. Utricles c. 3 × 1 mm., plano-convex, strongly nerved, dull, minutely papillose all over; slightly tapering to a beak c. 1 mm. long with scabrid margins and oblique, bifid orifice; stipe c. 0.3 mm. long. Stigmas 2. Nut c. 1.5 mm. long, plano-convex, oblong, smooth, light yellow-brown.