Stems 3.5-15 cm. Leaves: basal leaves 2-7, linear, 3-11 × 0.8-1 mm; cauline leaves subulate to linear, 2-12 × 0.3-1 mm. Inflorescences 1-2-flowered; floral bracts lanceolate to ovate, 2-5 mm. Flowers 3-winged, 5-10(-14) mm, wings yellow, to 1.8 mm wide; per-ianth yellow or greenish; perianth tube 6-lobed; outer lobes erect, triangular, 1.3-1.8 mm; inner lobes linear or elliptic, 1-1.5 mm. Capsules 3-6 mm.

Flowering fall (Oct). Coastal plain; 0--50 m; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies (Cuba); Central America; South America (to Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil).