Tufted, annual, 3-22 cm. Roots fibrous. Stem 0.7-1.2 mm diam., trigonous, smooth. Leaves to as long as stem; sheaths to 50 mm, wide, soft, grey-brown or often reddish, mouth margin concave or almost straight; blades to 10 cm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, grey green, flat or folded, keeled, margins often recurved, smooth or scabrous, apex trigonous, acute, scabrous. Inflorescence 7-17 mm diam., a regularly globose head of 5-9 globose, sessile, spirally arranged partial inflorescences, tightly pressed together and separately indistinguishable; 4-7 bracts foliose, up to 70 mm, much exceeding length of inflorescence, first erect, finally reflexed; partial inflorescences formed by 10-40 sessile spikes, tightly spirally arranged; spikes 2.5-3.5 x 0.8-1.4 mm, narrowly obovoid, compressed, with 20-28 glumes, glume-like bract long-awned, glumes distichously arranged, 1.4-1.6 mm, narrowly cymbiform, mid-nerve green, prominent, raised, 1-3 nerved on both sides, margins scarious, brownish towards the apex. Flowers mostly bisexual; stamens 1-0; stigmas 2. Nut 1-1.1 x 0.4 mm, ellipsoid, lenticular or plano-convex, not winged, yellow-brown, papillose and finely reticulate.