glabrous; stems 6–18 in. long, trigonous at the top, smooth, thickened at the base by coloured strongly purple-striate leaf-sheaths; leaves nearly as long as the stem, 1/8 in. broad, weak; rays of umbel 6, up to 1 1/2 in. long, each bearing 1 ebracteate spike; bracts 3–5, rather longer than the umbel, similar to (but rather stouter than) the leaves; spikes 2/3 in. in diam., dense; spikelets 1/3 in. long, nearly terete, 3–4-nutted, whitish, with red marks; rhachilla flexuose, disarticulating below the lowest fertile flower, wings elliptic, persistent, finally holding the nut; fertile glumes elliptic, acuminate, round-backed, 13-striate; margins scarious, decurrent on the rhachilla-wings; upper glumes infertile, distant, with long, acuminate, recurved points; stamens 3; nut 1/2 the length of the glume, trigonous, oblong-ellipsoid, slightly curved; style 1/2 as long as the nut, branches 3 linear, longish. null
