General: Aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial herb from a rhizome; stems (10) 30-100 (120) cm tall.
Leaves: All basal, tufted, linear, 20-70 cm long, 1.5-2.5 (4) mm wide, flat; ligules entire or nearly so, 1-5 mm long.
Flowers: Inflorescence elongated and leafless, usually longer than the leaves with many, short-stalked flowers; perianth parts usually 6, about 2 mm long; stamens usually 6; fertile ovaries 6.
Fruits: Dry, oblong to egg-shaped, 3-5 (7) mm long, splitting into 6 carpels at maturity; seeds 1 per carpel, more or less angled.
1. Fertile ovaries 3; fruits linear to slenderly club-shaped.................Triglochin palustris
1. Fertile ovaries 6, fruits oblong to egg-shaped
2. Ligules entire or nearly so, (1) 1.5-5 mm long; leaf blades somewhat compressed; plants (10) 30-100 (120) cm tall...........................Triglochin maritima
2. Ligules 2-lobed, 0.5-1 mm long; leaf blades more or less cylindric; plants 5-15 (30) cem tall.....................Triglochin concinna
Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat / Range
Tidal marshes, saline and alkaline ponds, fens and wet meadows in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent throughout BC south of 55degreeN, less frequent northward; cosmopolitan, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NH, PA, OH, IL, OK, NM, AZ, CA and MX; Eurasia, N Africa, S America.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)