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

General:
Perennial, loosely tufted herb from short rhizomes; stems 10-25 cm tall.

Leaves:
Flat or channeled, sparsely fringed with fine hairs, about 5-15 cm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, gradually tapering to sharp tips; basal sheaths reddish-brown, dull.

Flowers:
Inflorescence open, with 5 to 10, dark to blackish brown, dense clusters of 3 to 6 flowers on long, spreading stalks, the outer clusters on arching stalks; perianth segments brown, 2-3 mm long, narrowly lanceolate, pointed, the inner about the same length as the outer; stamens 6; anthers 0.4-0.6 mm long, about the same length as the filaments; bractlets strongly fringed with coarse hairs, nearly equal or sometimes surpassing the flowers; lower bract poorly developed.

Fruits:
Capsules, ellipsoid, pointed, shorter than the perianth segments; seeds cylindrical to egg-shaped, dark brown, 1-1.2 mm long, with minute appendages, with a few short threads at the base.