Plants densely cespitose. Culms erect, ascending, or spreading, 9-48 cm × 0.6-1 mm. Leaves: basal sheaths white or very light brown; nonbasal sheaths 7-32 mm, sheath blades 0.9-11.9 cm × 1-7 mm; leaf blades erect, ascending, or spreading, green or glaucous, 8-36 cm × 3-12 mm; blades of vegetative shoots 0-3.5 times wider than bract blades. Inflorescences: spikes (3-)4(-5) per culm, scattered; peduncles of pistillate spikes exserted 0-9 cm; of staminate spikes exserted 0-9.5 cm; bracts 2-11.8 cm × 1.3-4.8 mm. Pistillate spikes: the proximal basal, scattered, drooping. Staminate spike 1, linear, 8-22 × 1.2-3 mm. Pistillate scales keeled, 2.5-3.2 × 1-1.5 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline or, occasionally, reddish brown outward, apex cuspidate to acute, awn to 1 mm, proximal scale of lateral spike sterile or subtending a staminate flower. Staminate scales obovate, 3.5-4.5 × 1-1.2 mm, midribs green, margins hyaline or reddish brown outward, apex acute. Anthers 2-3 mm. Perigynia 4-9 per spike, finely veined, elliptic-ovoid, 2.5-4 × 1.5-2 mm; beak slightly bent, tapering. Achenes obvoid to broadly ovoid, 2.2-3.2 × 1.2-1.8 mm, slightly concave at maturity, tightly fitting in perigynia. Style slender ascending through entire orifice. 2n = 44, 46.