General:
Perennial, densely tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 2-15 cm tall, shorter than to slightly longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths conspicuous, persistent, blunt at the mouths; blades 1 to 2 per stem, stiff, wire-like, persistent, borne on the lower 1/4 of the stem, about 0.5 mm wide.

Flowers:
Spikes solitary, cylindrical to egg-shaped, 5-15 mm long, erect, with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips; bractless.

Fruits:
Perigynia lanceolate to egg-shaped, 3.5-4.5 mm long, 1.2-2 mm wide, plano-convex, smooth, faintly nerved, finely toothed above, short-stalked, the beaks short, bidentate; female scales egg-shaped, about equalling the perigynia, sharp-pointed or rounded or the lowest ones awned, brownish, the midribs pale, the margins translucent; stigmas 2 or 3; achenes lens-shaped or 3-angled, about 2.5 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