Rhynchospora rubra is a member of the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It found throughout Asia, Australia, and western and southern Africa.
Rhynchospora rubra grows between 25 and 100 centimeters tall. It features a distinctive spherical spikelet at the end of its stem, a trait it shares with Rhynchospora holoschoenoides, but can be distinguished by the absence of spikelets on multiple branches, as R. rubra possesses only a single spikelet on its central stem.