E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial, densely tufted herb from slender rhizomes; stems 15-70 cm tall, slightly shorter to longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths tight, concave to blunt at the mouths; blades 2 to 3 per stem, flat or channeled, borne on the lower 1/4 of the stem, about 0.7-1.5 mm wide.

Fruits:
Perigynia few, cylindrical or elliptical, 2.5-5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, yellowish-green to pale green, many nerved, long-stalked, the tips blunt, more or less entire, beakless; male scales rounded to pointed at the tips, fused below, appressed, yellowish

Notes:
Two subspecies can be distinguished in BC:

1. Female scales rounded; perigynia 2.5-3.5 mm long; E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains.................. ssp. leptalea

1. Female scales long-pointed to awned; perigynia 3.5-5 mm long; W of the Coast-Cascade Mountains................. ssp. pacifica Calder & Taylor