General:
Perennial, somewhat tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 30-100 cm tall, roughened on the angles, longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths not coppery-coloured, conspicuously red-dotted with glandular projections on the side nearest the stems, the blades of the lower ones large, firm, persistent; blades 3 or 4 per stem, mostly from near the base, 1-2.5 (3) mm wide, flat, the margins rolled-under.

Flowers:
Spikes numerous in a 2- to 5-cm long, narrow head, egg-shaped, few-flowered, 4-5 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, erect or mostly ascending, with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips; bracts inconspicuous, sheathless, often similar to the female scales.

Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 2.5-3 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide, straw-coloured to usually dark brown, biconvex, smooth, strongly nerved on the outside, short-stalked, the beaks as long as the bodies, slightly bidentate, not winged, the margins obscurely 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

Flower Colour:
Green

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer

Source:  The USDA