Slender to fairly robust annual with solitary or crowded stems; stems 5–25 cm long and 0.3–1.3 mm thick, triangular, glabrous. Leaf-blades 2–10 cm long and 0.5–2.5 mm wide, flat or inrolled, scabrid on margin; sheaths reddish brown to purple, rather short. Inflorescence an open anthela 2–8 cm in diam.; major involucral bract leafy, 1–10 cm long and 0.5–2.5 mm wide, usually shorter than the inflorescence; largest inflorescence-branches 1–7 cm long, with 1 sessile and 1–9 stalked groups of digitately arranged spikelets, occasionally some stalked spikelet-clusters with a secondary stalked spikelet-cluster, the tubular prophyll at the base of each peduncle greenish or light brown. Spikelets 3–17 x 1–1.5 mm (or to 3.5 mm wide with glumes spreading at right angles), linear, reddish brown to golden. Glumes 1.3–1.5 mm long, ovate, 3-nerved, orange to reddish brown with a greenish midrib which is usually very shortly excurrent in a slightly recurved mucro. Stamen 1. Style 3-branched. Nutlet 0.5–0.6 x 0.3–0.4 mm, obovate, triangular, brownish, minutely papillose.
