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General:
Perennial, loosely clumped herb with long rhizomes; stems triangular, smooth, except rough below the inflorescence, 15-70 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight, short; blades folded, arising mostly at the bases of the stem, 1-3 mm wide, the lower ones not reduced.
Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 4, 2-3 cm long, the terminal one with male flowers, occasionally with female flowers at the tip, the lower spikes 2 to 3, with female flowers, unstalked or with short stalks, erect; lowermost bract subtending the spikes leaflike, sheathless, with black ear-shaped lobes, exceeding the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 2-3 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, brownish-green, with 5 to 7 weak nerves on each side, the beaks short, up to 0.4 mm long; female scales egg-shaped, shorter than the perigynia, dark reddish-brown to black, with lighter 3-nerved centres and narrow translucent margins; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.1-1.6 mm long.
Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
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