Plants 10-35 cm tall. Stem erect, terete, hairy, branched; lowest branches prostrate or ascending, upper ones obliquely spreading. Leaves linear or lanceolate, 1.5-2.5 cm × 2-5 mm, 1-veined, base attenuate, apex acute, mucronate. Spikelike inflorescence elongate, terete, loose, 3-6 cm; bracts linear-lanceolate to ovate, 0.5-2 cm × ca. 2 mm, base attenuate, apex acuminate. Perianth segment 1, oblong or broadly elliptic, apex irregularly denticulate. Stamens 1-5. Utricle gray-green, sublustrous, broadly elliptic, 1.5-3 × 1-1.5 mm, sometimes with postulate processes, glabrous, base cuneate, apex rounded; wing narrow or obscure, margin entire; beak very short, apex ca. 1/2 as long as beak. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Sandy areas of Gobi desert, dunes, sandy meadows. Gansu, W Nei Mongol, Ningxia, W Xinjiang [Mongolia, Russia (W Siberia)].