General Description

Annuals, with fibrous roots. Culms tufted, 5-35 cm tall, slender, triquetrous, smooth, base with leaves. Leaves shorter than culm or sometimes equaling culm; sheath purplish brown; leaf blade 1.5-4 mm wide, flat, sometimes slightly plicate. Bracts 3-5, leaf-shaped, longer than inflorescence. Anthela simple; rays 2-7, 0.8-5 cm, each with 1 spike. Spikes broadly ovate to nearly flabelliform in outline, with 3-10 spikelets; rachis abbreviated. Spikelets densely and nearly digitately arranged, linear-lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm long, 3-4 mm wide, basal ones level spreading and apical ones obliquely spreading, 10-30-flowered; rachilla wings white, narrow, hyaline; scales pale to straw-colored and on both surfaces and sometimes with rust brown striae but middle green, tightly imbricate, ovate, 3-3.5 mm, thinly coriaceous, strongly folded, keeled, veins 9-13, apex acute and with a straight and slightly long mucro. Stamens 3; anthers linear; connective prominent above anther. Style long; stigmas 3, slightly short. Achene dark brown, obovoid, ca. 1/3 as long as scale, trigonous, slightly concave on 3 sides, surface puncticulate.