Japan Flora: Culms tufted, 30-60 cm. long, nodding above; leaf-blades 4-8 mm. wide, soft, flat, the ligule ferrugineous, the basal leaf-sheatlis bladeless, soft, cinnamon-colored; spikes 5-8, contiguous, nod­ding, densely many-flowered, short-cylindric or oblong, 2-3 cm. long, peduncled, all pistillate but with a few staminate flowers at base, the lower 1 or 2 bracts leaflike, longer than the inflorescence; pistillate scales narrowly ovate, dark purple, gradually narrowed to the short-awned tip; perigynia longer than the scales, appressed, 4 mm. long, ovate-elliptic, very much compressed, glabrous, thin-membranous, nearly white, slenderly 2-nerved on the dorsal side, abruptly very short beaked, with a dark-colored entire tip; achenes very small; stigmas 3, short.   July. Sandy and gravelly slopes in subalpine regions, especially on volcanoes;

Hokkaido, Honshu (n. and centr. distr. mainly on the Japan Sea side).  s. Kuriles, N. America.