General:
Perennial herb from a short, strong rhizome; flowering stems erect, 10-50 cm tall, often smooth below, smooth or glandular-hairy above especially below the inflorescence, the hairs long and cylindric.

Leaves:
Basal leaves several, tufted, broadly linear, 5-20 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, smooth, sheathing at the base, folded in iris-like fashion, the margins entire; stem leaves reduced or lacking, often 1, sometimes 2 to 3, near or below midlength.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a compact, spike-like, 2- to 6-cm long, terminal cluster of several to many, stalked flowers in bunches of 2 or 3 at each node of the inflorescence, the stalks 1-7 mm long, sticky-glandular hairy, ascending to erect, with bracts at the tips; flowers white to yellow-green, cup-shaped, of 6 similar, distinct tepals, the tepals oblong-egg-shaped, 3-6 mm long, the inner 3 somewhat narrower and longer than the outer 3; stamens 6, the anthers often purplish and conspicuous; pistil 1, 3-chambered.

Fruits:
Capsules, 3-lobed and 3-beaked, erect, red or yellowish, 5-9 mm long; seeds numerous, about 1 mm long, enclosed in loose, whitish, spongy coats, with short appendages at one end.

Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC:

1. Hairs of the upper stems and inflorescence relatively slender, 3 to 4 times as long as thick, nearly uniform in diameter and smooth.................... ssp. montana (Hitchc.) Packer

1. Hairs of the upper stems and inflorescence relatively thick, 2 (3) times as long as thick, tapered and somewhat pimpled..................... ssp. brevistyla (Hitchc.) Packer

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Tofieldia glutinosa subsp. absona C.L. Hitchc.
Tofieldia glutinosa subsp. brevistyla C.L. Hitchc.
Tofieldia glutinosa var. absona (C.L. Hitchc.) R.J. Davis
Tofieldia glutinosa var. brevistyla (C.L. Hitchc.) C.L. Hitchc.
Tofieldia glutinosa var. intermedia (Rydb.) B. Boivin