Tufted perennial, (5-)15-40 cm. Rhizome creeping, 1-2 mm diam., aerial stems arising in distal parts of internodes. Stem 1-2 mm diam., deeply grooved, with 10-16 prominent veins, sometimes rather smooth and soft, easily compressed, green or greyish green. Open sheats ephemeral; lower closed sheath 20-35 mm, mostly reddish brown, mouth oblique; upper 40-125 mm, basal part reddish brown, distal part mostly green, mouth straight, scarious, often reddish. Spike 7-15 x 3?4 mm, narrowly ellipsoid or ovoid, apex obtuse, with 20-40 loosely imbricating glumes; basal glume sterile, 1.9-2.6 mm, completely clasping or nearly so, sides brown or dark reddish brown, margins widely scarious, apex rounded; glumes 2.8-4.2 mm, cymbiform, obtuse or acutish, midnerve not reaching the apex, sides mostly dark reddish brown, sometimes pale brown, margins narrowly or widely scarious. Perianth bristles 4-6, weak and unequal, as long as nut or sometimes overtopping stylopodium, light brown; stamens 3, anthers 1.5-2.5 mm; stigmas 2. Nut 1.4-1.9 x 1-1.4 mm (excl. stylopodium), obovoid, sometimes globose, thickly bi-convex, yellow or light brown, surface glossy, obscurely or clearly reticulate; stylopodium 0.3-0.7 x 0.5-0.8 mm, rounded conical, mostly wider than long, mammiform, trabeculate, constricted from nut.