Plants perennial, 25--60 cm tall. Rhizome creeping. Basal leaves 2--4; leaf blade somewhat flat, 2--20 cm, basal one represented only by leaf sheath. Distal cauline leaves 1 or 2; leaf blade channeled, 15--21 cm. Inflorescences branched; involucral bract leaflike, 9--10 cm, longer than inflorescence; heads 3--10, 1.5--2.5 cm in diam., 5--12-flowered. Perianth segments pale chestnut brown, lanceolate, 4.5--5 mm, equal, apex acute. Filaments ca. 2 mm; anthers 0.7--1.2 mm. Capsule long conical, 7.5--8 mm, 3-angled, faces convex, apex beaked; beak ca. 0.5 mm. Seeds ca. 1 mm, appendaged; appendages 1.2--1.5 mm.

Neither the type nor other material of Juncus tibeticus has been seen by the present authors. The above description is based on the protologue.

* Forested mountain ridges, wet slopes, alpine meadows; 2700--4200 m. Gansu, Xizang.