General:
Perennial herb from long rhizomes and/or stolons; stems 10-30 cm tall, arising singly, branched at the bases into several sterile shoots, much longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths purplish, reddish-brown or straw-coloured, the lower ones lacking blades; blades 1 to 3 from near the bases, 1-5 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat or sometimes folded.

Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 5, egg-shaped, 5-12 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, erect, clustered, with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips; lowermost bract scalelike.

Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 2.5-3.5 mm long, 1.8-2.2 mm wide, yellowish-brown or brownish, thick, convex, smooth, shiny, strongly nerved, wingless, short-stalked, the beaks short, 0.3-0.5 mm long; female scales egg-shaped, slightly longer than the perigynia, pointed, brown, the margins translucent; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.2-2 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