General:
Perennial, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 20-80 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths tight; blades flat, 2-4.5 mm wide, borne on the lower 1/3 of the stem.

Flowers:
Spikes 4 to 12, aggregated into a 1- to 3-cm long egg-shaped to cylindrical head, unstalked, with both female and male flowers, the female ones towards the tips; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, reduced, inconspicuous or the lowest bristlelike.

Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 3-3.5 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, dull green to brownish, more or less flattened, the margins winged nearly to the bases, the upper 1/2 fringed with teeth, lightly several-nerved on both sides or nerveless below, the beaks bidentate, less than 1 mm long, narrowly margined and toothed below; female scales elliptical, brownish, with translucent margins, somewhat shorter and narrower than the perigynia; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, about 1 mm long.

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

Flower Colour:
Green

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer

Source:  The USDA