General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short, blackish, fibrous roots; stems 5-35 cm tall, varying in length, densely clustered, usually shorter than the leaves, narrowly winged and roughened on the angles, enlarged below the spikes.

Leaves:
Sheaths tight, translucent below; blades 2 to 4 per stem, deep green, flat, minutely pimpled, borne on lower 1/4 of the stem, 3-5 mm wide, the lower ones reduced.

Flowers:
Spikes 1 to 3, widely separated, from terminal to near basal, 10-15 mm long, with both male and female flowers, the male flowers towards the tips, few, unstalked, inconspicuous, 1-2 mm long, the lower flowers female, 2 to 5, unstalked to short-stalked, erect.

Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 5-6 mm long, 1.6-2.2 mm wide, green or greenish, not inflated in upper 1/3 of body, smooth, nerveless, stalked, the beaks bidentate, stout, smooth, about 2 mm long; female scales greenish, leaflike, 0.5-2 cm long, 4-5 mm wide when flat, folded and keeled, more or less covering the perigynia, long-pointed, the lowermost the longest; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, yellowish-green to blackish, granular, 2.5-3.2 mm long.

Notes:
This species is closely related to Carex saximontana.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex backii var. subrostrata (Bates) Dorn
Carex durifolia L.H. Bailey
Carex durifolia var. subrostrata Bates