Vegetative parts: plants clumped, 0.8–1.5 m tall, basal diameter 0.2–1 m, crown diameter 0.5–1.5 m, with rhizomes. Rhizome spreading, unbranched or sparsely branched, culms evenly spaced, 7–10 mm in diam., culms 2–5 mm apart. Fertile culms unbranched, distinctly hollow, smooth, olivaceous, 0.8–1.5 m tall, diameter at base 1.5–2.5 mm, diameter at apex 1.5–2 mm. Sheaths closely convoluted, 15–25 mm long, brown, apical margins coriaceous, like the rest of the body, hyaline shoulders absent, apex, excluding the membranous lobes, acute or obtuse or rounded. Sheath-mucro awl- or needleshaped, straight and erect, 3–10 mm long.
Males: male inflorescence with 2–5 spikelets, racemose, 10–50 mm long, 5–25 mm wide. Male inflorescence spathes caducous, shorter than spikelets or as tall as spikelets, cartilaginous. Male flowers in spikelets. Male spikelets erect on stiff pedicels or sessile, oblong or square or elliptical, apex rounded or obtuse, 10–35 mm, 4–5 mm, with 15–50 flowers, pedicels absent ie spikelets sessile. Male bracts as tall as flowers or taller than flowers, 2.5–5 mm long, orbicular, rounded, coriaceous or cartilaginous, bract upper margin like body of bract, bract awn minute or absent. Male flower 3.2–4 mm long. Male tepals sepals more rigid than petals, cartilaginous, petals membranous, oblong or ovate, inner tepals shorter than outer tepals or inner and outer tepals the same length. Male outer lateral tepals keeled or winged, glabrous. Anthers 1.5–2.5 mm long, exserted from the flowers.
Females: female inflorescence linear, 40–60 mm long, 5–10 mm wide, with 2–5 spikelets. Female spathes longer than the spikelets, obscuring spikelet, persistent, cartilaginous. Female spikelet sessile, elliptical, apex acute, 12–15 mm long, with 3–4 flowers, with 2 sterile bracts. Female bracts taller than flowers, 8–12 mm long, ovate (bracts wider than long, wrapping around the flower and pedicel), apiculate, cartilaginous, apical margin like rest of bract, same as body of bract, awn minute or absent or less than half as long as the bract body. Female flower 5.5–7.5 mm long, without a fleshy pedicel. Female tepals cartilaginous, glabrous and smooth, midrib flush with the tepal body, apices acute, inner whorl shorter than outer. Female outer lateral tepals keeled or winged, wings entire, narrower than body or as wide as body, 5.5–7.5 mm long. Female odd outer tepal 5.5–7.5 mm long. Female inner tepals ovate, 5–6 mm long. Staminodes present (minute). Styles plumose, red, 2. Style bases free (but swollen at the base, forming a cap on the nutlet). Ovary with 2 locules or 1 locule, indehiscent.
Fruit: indehiscent fruits with a softer ovary wall. Perianth presence on fruits absent. Nut apex smooth, without a distinct cap, wall smooth, 3–4 mm long, (1.67–)1.92(–2.08) mm diam., shape in side view elliptical, shape in top view round in cross section or elliptical in cross section, brown. Elaiosome absent.
Distribution in Western Cape; the Cape Floristic Region South-western mountains; Endemic to the Hottentots Holland, Kogelberg, and Klein Riviers mountains. Occurrence in Provincial Conservation Areas or National Parks in the Western Cape Limietberg or Nuweberg or Kogelberg.
Altitude 5–600 m. Rockiness of habitat no rocks. Bedrock TMS. Groundwater availability well-drained soils, or valley bottom seeps. Vegetation type fynbos. Local in slight seepages, often quite common, usually on deeper soils. Around the Steenbras River catchment this species has become very common, often found under pine plantations, and may be an early succession plant into disturbed areas. Plants coppicing from the rhizome or base after fire (L5211). Seed dispersal mode undifferentiated.