Juncus brachytepalus Trautvetter ex V. I. Kreczetowicz & Gontscharow; J. glaucus Ehrhart ex Sibthorp; J. inflexus subsp. austro-occidentalis K. F. Wu; J. inflexus subsp. brachytepalus (Trautvetter ex V. I. Kreczetowicz & Gontscharow) Novikov.

Plants perennial, tufted. Stems terete, 40--80 cm × 1.2--4 mm; pith interrupted. Cataphylls closely embracing stem, reddish brown to brown, shiny or not, sheathlike, 1--13 cm. Inflorescences pseudolateral, many flowered in small, dense panicles; involucral bract erect, seemingly a continuation of stem, long. Bracteoles 2, broadly ovate to ovate-lanceolate. Perianth yellowish green at center; segments narrowly lanceolate, 2.5--3.5 × ca. 1 mm, subequal or outer ones larger than inner, margin thin, transparent, apex acute. Stamens 6, ca. 1/2 as long as perianth; filaments pale reddish brown; anthers ca. 0.7 mm. Ovary 3-loculed. Style shorter than ovary. Capsule yellowish green to chestnut brown, trigonous, ellipsoid, narrowly ovoid, or ovoid-oblong, 3--3.4 mm, subequaling or slightly longer than outer perianth segments, 3-septate, apex obtuse to acuminate, often mucronate. Seeds brown, obliquely ovoid to oblong, ca. 0.6 mm, reticulate. Fl. Jun--Jul, fr. Jul--Sep. 2 n = 38, 40, 42.

Flood plains, wet grasslands, marshes, river banks, ditch margins; 1100--2700 m. Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Jiangsu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Xinjiang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Kashmir, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia (E Siberia), Sikkim, Sri Lanka; Africa, Europe, North America].