General:
Perennial, somewhat tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 20-100 cm tall, longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths coppery-coloured towards the tips, conspicuously red-dotted with glandular projections on the side nearest the stem, the blades of the lower ones large, firm, persistent; blades 3 or 4 per stem, borne mostly from near the bases, 2.5-6 mm wide, flat, the margins rolled-under.

Flowers:
Spikes numerous, clustered in several aggregated heads, in a 3.5-8 cm long, dense, branched inflorescence, egg-shaped, few-flowered, 4-7 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, erect to ascending with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips; bracts inconspicuous, sheathless, often similar to the female scales.

Fruits:
Perigynia narrowly triangular to egg-shaped, 2.5-4 mm long, about 1.2-1.5 mm wide, straw-coloured to brown, biconvex, smooth, strongly nerved on the outside, short-stalked, the beaks as long as the bodies, winged, the margins fine-toothed; female scales egg-shaped, equalling or slightly longer than the perigynia, pointed, brown, the margins translucent; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.2-1.4 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 diandra var. ampla
Carex obovoidea Cronquist