This is a small native rush, up to about 10 inches tall, that grows among the smartweed. Each plant has a single stem (or a tuft of stems) that is round, unbranched and smooth. The only leaf is a single, rough-textured sheath at the base of the stem. The single, oval flowerhead, about half an inch long, is at the top of the stem. This flowerhead consists of many, closely-packed, green-brown scales, each scale concealing a single flower which produces one hard seed about a millimeter long.

The plant flowers in summer (the photographs were taken in July) and the seedheads are eaten by muskrats and many birds. The stems are a favorite perch of damselflies and dragonflies.