Culms round or trigonous, filiform, wiry, angles proximal to spike blunt or sharp, 5-35 cm, shorter than or longer than leaves. Leaves: basal leaf sheaths fibrillose when old; blades yellow-green or bright green, involute-cylindric, quill-shaped, 6-25 cm, 0.3-0.7 mm wide near base. Spike 7-30 × 3-7 mm, staminate portion 4-14 mm. Proximal pistillate scales pale red-brown with white or gold margins, broadly obovate, 2.3-4.5(-6.5) × 1.7-4 mm, shorter or longer than perigynia, apex obtuse to short-awned. Staminate scales red-brown with broad, white margins, broadly obovate, apex obtuse. Perigynia (2-)5-18, appressed to ascending, white to gold, obovate to orbiculate, 1.9-4.8 × 1.3-2 mm, body conspicuously hirsute or pubescent, at least distal 1/4 (occasionally only proximal to beak); beak 0-0.8 mm, style base often conspicuously exserted from beak; rachilla present. Achenes obovate to elliptic, 1.5-3.3 × 1.1-1.9 mm. Stigmas ± black.