Herbs, perennial, brownish or bronze-olive when dry, to 4 dm, not glaucous; rhizomes slightly elongated. Stems branched, with 1 or 2 nodes, 1.3-2(-2.5) mm wide, glabrous, margins usually entire, similar in color and texture to stem body; first internode 9-30 cm, equaling or shorter than leaves; distalmost node with 1-3 branches. Leaf blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. Inflorescences borne singly; spathes green to occasionally purplish, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels usually entire; outer 12.5-23 mm, 2.3 mm shorter to 3.7 mm longer than inner, tapering evenly towards apex, margins basally connate 3.9-6.5 mm; inner with keel straight to evenly curved, hyaline margins 0.1-0.3 mm wide, apex acute or obtuse, ending at or to 1 mm proximal to aristate green apex. Flowers: tepals pale blue to deep bluish violet, bases yellow; outer tepals 8.3-12.8 mm, apex rounded to emarginate or truncate, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally or glabrous; ovary similar in color to foliage. Capsules dark brown or nearly black, ± globose to obovoid, 3.7-4.5 mm; pedicel ascending to spreading. Seeds globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 1-1.2 mm, rugulose. 2n = 32.

Flowering late winter--summer. Roadside ditches, hammocks, open woods; 0--50 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., Miss.