Stoloniferous perennial, 20-30 cm. Rhizome 2-3 mm diam, with reddish brown scales, which soon disintegrate into fibres. Stem 0.5-1 mm diam, trigonous, smooth. Leaves flexuous, much longer than stem; sheaths 30-40 mm, reddish brown, disintegrating into fibres, margin of scarious side straight, finely ciliate; ligule c. 0.5 mm, brownish, finely ciliate, hardly arched; blades 2-3.5 mm wide, revolute, margins and mid-nerve below, sometimes also adaxial surface scabrous. Inflorescence of one, sometimes of two male spikes above, (2-)3-4 female spikes below, overlapping, occasionally basigyn; bracts narrow, much longer than inflorescence, sheath-less or lowest with a sheath up to 10 mm. Male spikes 5-11 x 2-3 mm, fusiform or club-shaped, glumes c. 3.2 x 2.2 mm, truncate, pale brown, almost completely scarious, arista up to 1 mm. Female spikes 5-20 x 2-4 mm, sessile or lowest with peduncle to 15 mm, erect, cylindrical, overlapping; glumes 2.8-3.5 x 0.8-1 mm, ovate, acuminate, light-brown, nearly completely scarious, arista to 1 mm; utricles 2.2-2.7 x 1.1-1.3 mm, ovoid to globose, stipe c. 0.5 mm, abruptly contrcted to beak, green, upper part setose; beak 0.3-0.5 mm, somewhat setose, ostiole margins widely scarious, oblique. Stigmas 3, Nut c. 1.6 x 1 mm, incl. style base 0.2 mm and c. 0.1 mm stipe, obovate, trigonous, dark brown, reticulate with paspilla in each areole.

Fl. Per.: August.

Lectotype: Sikkim, Lachen, July 9 1849. J.D. Hooker s.n. (K), selected by Noltie, Edinb. J. Bot. 50: 195. 1993.

Distribution: From Kashmir to Sikkim.

Reported from Kashmir by C. B. Clarke (l.c.). Description based on Jacquemont 961 from near Simla (K). Koyama in Hara & al., Enum. Flow. Pl. Nepal., 1:103 (1978) unites C. inanis C.B. Clarke (in Hook.f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 6: 743. 1894), and C. schlagintweitiana and chooses to use former name assigning it to Kunth, Enum. Pl.: 522 (1837). Kunth, however, repeated only description by Nees in Wight, l.c.: 120 (1834), where no specific epithet is given, but the word "inanis" (= empty). According to Noltie (1993) the name is validated through C.B. Clarke (in Hook.f., l.c.: 743, 1894).