Fairly robust perennial producing very slender stolons ending in bulbs; stolons to c. 5 cm long and 0.5–0.8 mm thick, brown; scales c. 6–8 mm long, pale brown; bulbs 2–2.5 x c. 1 cm in diam., covered by rather thin pale reddish brown scales; stems 10–40 cm long and 1.5–2.5 mm thick, triangular, glabrous. Leaves from the basal 5–10 cm only; leaf-blades 10–20 cm long and 3–8 mm wide, rather thick and fleshy, scabrid at least on margins; leaf-sheaths rather wide, greyish white above, brownish below. Inflorescence an open anthela 2–12 cm wide, consisting of 1–4 sessile or almost sessile spikes and 2–8 stalked spikes on 0.5–5 cm long glabrous peduncles; inflorescence-bracts 5–8, leafy, the largest 10–15 cm long and 3–5 mm wide. Spikes up to 1.5–2.5 x 2–3 cm, consisting of 4–12 spikelets from an up to 10 mm long axis, the lowermost spikelets sometimes with a minute stalk and with an additional spikelet from its base. Spikelets 7–20 x 3–4 mm, pale reddish brown to golden brown, only slightly flattened, 15–30-flowered. Glumes 3–4 mm long, pale reddish brown to brown, many-nerved; midrib only slightly excurrent. Style with 2 very long branches.