General:
Perennial, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 30-60 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.

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

Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 6, aggregated into a 3- to 5-cm long head, unstalked, with both female and male flowers, the female ones towards the tips; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, reduced, inconspicuous.

Fruits:
Perigynia cylindrical to elliptical, 4-5.5 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, greenish or golden-yellow, more or less flattened, the margins winged nearly to the bases and the upper 1/2 fringed with teeth, lightly several-nerved on both sides or nerveless below, the beaks obliquely cut, 1-1.3 mm long, narrowly margined and toothed below; female scales elliptical, light silvery-brown, with translucent margins, concealing the perigynia; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 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