Culms slender, hairy. Leaves 1–3.5 mm wide, ciliate. Bracts ciliate. Tubercles entire or lobed. Achenes 2–3 × 1.5–2.3 mm.

Fruiting spring–fall. Wet to dry, sandy soil in thickets, pinelands, and disturbed areas; 0–400 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., La., Miss., Mo., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va.; Mexico; West Indies (Cuba); Central America.

Scleria ciliata var. ciliata is found primarily along the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains and the Great Plains; it is evidently uncommon in the Mississippi Valley and absent from the Appalachian Mountains.