Dwarf tufted annual. Culms trigonous, smooth, to 20 cm high, to 1 mm diam. Leaves not septate-nodulose, as long as culms or much shorter, to 2 mm wide. Inflorescence simple, of 2–6 branches to 6 cm long, or head-like; spikes short, broad-ovoid, to 4 cm diam.; involucral bracts leaf-like, 2–4 exceeding inflorescence. Spikelets flattened, 5–20 per spike, 5–20 mm long, 2–3 mm wide in side view, 6–54-flowered; rachilla not or scarcely winged, persistent; glumes obtuse, with excurved mucro to 0.7 mm long, with keel 3–5-nerved, sides hyaline, pale yellow- to red brown, 2–2.5 mm long (excluding mucro); stamens 2; stigmas 2. Nut biconvex, elliptic, from one-third to one-half as long as glume body, 0.5–0.8 mm long, 0.3–0.5 mm wide, grey to blackish, colliculate, patterned in fine longitudinal rows,. Flowers spring–summer.
MuM, MSB, RobP. Also WA, NT, Qld. New Guinea. Apparently confined in Victoria to the far north-west (Mildura, Hattah Lakes, Robinvale) where occasional on damp sandy soil fringing receding water in lakes and watercourses.
