C. aristatus Rottb., Descr. Pl. Rar. Progr.: 22. 1772; Kük. in Engler, Pflanzenreich IV.20, 101: fig. 55, F-J (1936 as C. aristatus); R. R. Stewart, l.c. 92. 1972; U. Scholz in H. Scholz & U. Scholz, Fl. Gramin. & Cypér. Togo: Fig. 19. 1983; Kukkonen in Rech.f., l.c. 129.

Tufted annual, 5-20 cm. Stem 0.5-1.5 mm diam., sharply trigonous, or even winged, greyish-green, smooth. Leaves basal or subbasal, from half to as long as stems; sheaths 7-50 mm, reddish or yellowish brown or greenish, mouth margin slightly concave; ligule 0; blades up to 10 cm, 1-3 mm wide, greyish-green, keeled, margins smooth, slightly revolute, apex acute and slightly scabrous or smooth. Inflorescence a small multiple spike, up to 50 mm, seldom a single cluster of spikes; clusters rounded or elongated, with 2 to more than 30 spirally arranged spikes; primary branches 0-4, up to 45 mm, tubular prophyll often reddish, up to 5 mm; 2-3 bracts foliose, to 13 cm, longer than inflorescence. Spikes reflexed, flat, ovoid, to 7 mm x 2.5-3 mm, with from 4 to more than 10 flowers; glume-like bract 0.5-1 mm, acute, glume-like prophyll scarious, 2-veined, from 0.7 up to more than 1 mm; rachis compressed, 4-angled, internodes c. 0.5 mm, green, later reddish-brown; glumes 1.5-2.3 mm, cymbiform, sometimes keeled, not truncate, mid-nerve green, extending into recurved arista up to 0.7 mm, sides pale greenish or reddish brown, with 3(-4) nerves, scarious. Stamens 1-2. Nut 0.7-1 mm, obovoid, trigonous, brown or dark brown, papillose.

Fl. Per.: August - September (to Dec., according to Bhandari 1990, as Mariscus squarrosus).

Type: Herb. Linn. 70.8 (LINN) (see Kern, l.c. 631. 1974).

Open moist ground, grasslands, on rocks and sand, to c.2100 m; also as weed; Distribution: Africa S of Sahara to S Africa, Madagascar, Pakistan, India and China to Australia, N and S. America.