General:
Perennial, densely tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 10-40 cm tall, longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths pale below; blades 4 to 8 per stem, channeled, borne on the lower 1/2 of the stem, 1-3 mm wide, the lower ones reduced.

Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 7, the terminal unstalked or short-stalked, linear, 7-21 mm long, with male flowers (rarely some female flowers), the lower spikes 2 to 6, erect, cylindrical, 5-11 mm long, many-flowered, with female flowers (sometimes the upper with male flowers at the tips), unstalked or nearly so; bracts subtending the female spikes conspicuous, leaflike, 4-9 cm long, much exceeding the inflorescence, the sheaths 2-20 mm long, the upper bracts shorter.

Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped to elliptical, mostly spreading, 2-3.2 mm long, 1.2-1.3 mm wide, yellowish-green to green, smooth, several-nerved, the beaks shortly bidentate, about 1/3 as long as the bodies of the perigynia; female scales egg-shaped, pointed, short-awned at the tips, shorter than the perigynia, reddish, with greenish midribs and narrow translucent margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, smooth, 1.4-1.9 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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Carex oederi auct. non Retz.
Carex oederi subsp. viridula (Michx.) HultTn
Carex oederi var. recterostrata (Victorin) Dorn
Carex oederi var. viridula
Carex serotina MTrat
Carex viridula var. viridula Michx.