Eleocharis uniglumis

Rhizomatous herb.

5–50 cm high.

The stem is leafless. There are two sheaths at the base of the stem. The higher sheath does not bear a lamina. The rhizome is horizontal. An aerial shoot branches at the apical end of an internode of the rhizome. The sheaths are lustrous and red – maroon or rarely green.

The spike is small and rather lax. The pistillate scales are dark maroon. The lowest scale is amplexicaul, flowerless and much shorter than a half of the spike. The flowers are bisexual. The bristles of the perianth are typically absent. There are three stamens and a pistil with two stigmas in a flower.

The fruit is an achene that is 1.5–2 mm long. The incrassate base of the style is typically longer than its width. There is a constriction between the achene and the style.