Plants annual, cespitose, 5–20(–30) cm, glabrous, plant base soft; rhizomes absent. Leaves distichous, shorter or longer than culms; sheaths keeled, entire or distally ciliate; ligule of short hairs complete; blades narrowly linear, 1–3 mm wide, flat, margin scabrid-ciliate. Inflorescence: anthelae compound, mostly diffuse, mostly turbinate, as broad as long, ascending-branching; scapes filiform to linear, distally variously compressed, sometimes alate, 0.5–1.5(–2) mm wide, edges scabrid; primary involucral bract usually 1, blade exceeding or exceeded by anthela. Spikelets red-brown or brown, mostly narrowly lanceoloid to narrowly ellipsoid, 3–7 mm; fertile scales lanceolate, keeled, 1.5–2 mm, narrowly acute, glabrous, midrib excurrent as mucro. Flowers: stamens (1–)2; styles 3-fid, slender, with 3angled base, glabrous. Achenes pale brown, trigonous-obovoid, 0.5–0.7 mm, apiculate and 3-ribbed, smooth to variably warty. 2n = 10.
