Plants densely cespitose; rhizomes sometimes short-prolonged, appearing elongate in old clumps. Culms 15–120 cm; vegetative culms few, inconspicuous, usually fewer than 15 leaves, not strikingly 3-ranked. Leaves: sheaths adaxially white-hyaline, summits U-shaped or sometimes prolonged to 2 mm beyond collar and rounded, smooth; distal ligules 2.2–3.5 mm; blades 3–5 per fertile culm, 12–30 cm × 1.5–3.5 mm. Inflorescences open, brown, (1.3–)2.5–5(–6.5) cm × 5–18 mm; proximal internode (3–)6–13(–23) mm; 2d internode 2–12 mm; proximal bracts scalelike or bristlelike, shorter than inflorescences. Spikes (3–)4–7, 5–7 on larger culms, distant, distinct, ovoid to ellipsoid, 7–17(–24) × 4–8(–12) mm, base attenuate or rarely rounded, apex acute to rounded; terminal spike usually with conspicuous staminate base. Pistillate scales white-hyaline, tinged reddish brown, usually with whitish, pale gold, or green midstripe, broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 2.6–4.3 mm, as long as to 0.7–0.9 mm shorter than perignyium beaks, narrower than perigynia, margins thin, sometimes involute, apex mostly acute. Perigynia (10–)15–40(–45) per spike, ascending-spreading, green or reddish brown, veinless or faintly and irregularly 1–5-veined adaxially, orbiculate or broadly ovate, plano-convex, (2.6–)3.4–4.8(–5.2) × (2–)2.3–3.2 mm, 0.5–0.6 mm thick, 1.2–1.8 times as long as wide, nearly leathery, margin flat, including wing 0.3–0.8 mm wide, ciliate-serrulate at least distally, smooth; beak pale green or brown at tip, flat, ± ciliate-serrulate, abaxial suture with gold or reddish brown-hyaline margin, distance from beak tip to achene 1.5–2.4 mm. Achenes orbiculate to broadly ovate, 1.5–2.2 × 1.3–1.8 mm, 0.5–0.6 mm thick. 2n = 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68.
