Perennial, 20-60 cm. Rhizome dark brown, woody; stolons numerous, long-creeping, strong, 1-1.5 mm diam., producing tubers, c. 20 x 9 mm, dark brown. Stem 1-2.5 mm diam., trigonous, green, smooth. Leaves shorter than stem; sheaths to 10 cm, wide, acute, grey-brown or brown, sometimes with reddish tint, mouth margin lingulate; blades to 30 cm, 1-4.5 mm wide, grey-green or green, flat or folded, slightly keeled, margins smooth or towards the apex barbed, apex long-attenuate, acute, trigonous, scabrous. Inflorescence an anthelodium, 40-100 mm; 2-3 lowermost bracts foliose, longer than inflorescence; primary branches 5-8, to more than 50 mm long; secondary anthelodia 25-50 mm; clusters of spikes 15-40 mm, of (2-)5-7(-9) spikes on slightly elongated axis, sometimes nearly digitately; spikes 10-40 x 1.5-2 mm, with 11-51 glumes, glume-like bract c. 2 mm, glume-like prophyll 1.9-2.4 mm, bi-nerved, sterile; spike rachis 4-angled, c. 0.5 mm wide, internodes 0.7-1 mm, winged; glumes (2.3-)2.7-3.7 mm, cymbiform, rather closely imbricate, obtuse, dark reddish brown, or grey-brown, sides with two distinct nerves, nerveless area wide, margin narrowly or sometimes widely scarious, towards apex embracing nut. Nut 1.3-1.8 x 0.7-1 mm, ellipsoid or obovoid, trigonous, brown to blackish brown, clearly or obscurely reticulate papillose.