HABIT	AN ANNUAL SEDGE, SOMETIMES BEHAVING AS A PERENNIAL, VARIES IN HEIGHT FROM 6-80 CM.
STEMS	SMOOTH, TRIANGULAR, SLIGHTLY WINGED AND 0.7-3.0 MM THICK. THE ROOTS ARE NUMEROUS, FIBROUS AND REDDISH.
LEAVES	SMOOTH, (OR SLIGHTLY SCABRID ON THE MIDRIB AND MARGIN), FLAT, LINEAR, 5-25 CM LONG OR OFTEN TWOTHIRDS OF THE PLANT HEIGHT, 2-6 MM WIDE, SOMETIMES REDUCED TO SHEATHS. SHEATHS ARE TUBULAR, UNITED, GREEN TO REDDISH-BROWN AND WITHOUT LEAF BLADES AT THE BASE.
FLOWERS	INFLORESCENCE CONSISTS OF DENSE, GLOBOSE, UMBELLATE HEADS, SIMPLE OR COMPOUND, 5-15 MM IN DIAMETER, WITH 10-60 STELLATELY SPREADING SPIKELETS.
FRUITS	NUTLETS, 0.6-0.8 MM LONG AND 0.3-0.4 MM WIDE, TRIANGULAR, OBOVATE-ELLIPTIC, YELLOWISH-BROWN OR PALE-BROWN, MINUTELY PAPILLOSE.