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General:
Perennial, loosely tufted herb from elongated, fibrous rhizomes; stems 30-80 cm tall, arising in circular clusters with less dense centres, roughened on the angles above, longer than the leaves.
Leaves:
Sheaths tight; blades 2 to 3 per stem, borne on the lower 1/4 of the stem, flat or channeled below, 1.5-2 mm wide, reduced to scales at the base of the stem.
Flowers:
Spikes 4 to 8, the upper ones rising close together, the lower ones noticeably remote, unstalked, with both female and male flowers, the inconspicuous male flowers towards the tips, female flowers at the bases; bracts awnlike, the lowermost conspicuous, slightly shorter to longer than the inflorescence.
Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped or elliptical, 3.6-5 mm long, 1.8-2.2 mm wide, with faint inconspicuous nerves, green, smooth, very short-stalked, finely toothed on the upper halves, the beaks 1/3 the length of the bodies, bidentate; female scales egg-shaped, equalling or slightly shorter than the perigynia, pointed or short-awned, brown, the midribs greenish, the margins translucent; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, smooth, 1.8-2.2 mm long, filling the bodies of the perigynia.
Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
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