Carex paupera

Rhizome long; shoots ± loosely tufted. Culms erect, terete, smooth, 8–45 mm long, c. 1 mm diam. Leaves longer than culms, 40–60 mm long, 0.7–1.5 mm wide; sheath dark brown, persisting as fibrous remains; ligule obtuse to rounded. Inflorescence erect, 0.7–3 cm long, of 1–3 spikes, spikes solitary at nodes; lowest involucral bracts exceeding inflorescence. Spikes sessile, ±contiguous when more than 1, spreading to erect at maturity, 4–8 mm long; all spikes with female flowers above male flowers; glumes acuminate to obtuse, mostly short- to long-mucronate, whitish to pale yellow-brown (rarely orange-brown) with green midrib; female glumes 2–3(–5) mm long; utricles 3–3.6(–4) mm long, 1.7–2.7 mm diam., broad-obovoid to ellipsoid, ± strongly 5–9-nerved, densely minutely hispid on narrowly winged margins and beak, green to yellowish; beak 0.7–1.0 mm long, with apex split; style 2-fid. Nut obovoid to broad-ellipsoid, lenticular, pale to dark yellow-brown. Flowers in Summer.