General:
Perennial, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 15-60 cm tall, much exceeding the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths blunt; blades flat, 3-9 mm wide, the lower ones slightly reduced.

Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 6, crowded, erect, 1-3 cm long, the upper unstalked, the lower short-stalked, the terminal one with male flowers, unstalked or nearly so, 1-2 cm long, the lower 2 to 5 spikes of female flowers, sometimes with male flowers towards the tips; bracts subtending the lowest spike with sheaths 1-4.5 cm long and blades 1-8 cm long, the blades much shorter than the inflorescence.

Fruits:
Perigynia lanceolate or narrowly egg-shaped, 3-5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, smooth or often minutely rough, flattened, with 2 prominent nerves, the margins fringed with teeth near the tips, the beaks scarcely or shortly bidentate, about 1 mm long, 1/4 to 1/3 the length of the perigynia bodies; female scales egg-shaped, shorter than the perigynia, round at the tips, more or less fringed, purplish-black, the centres paler, the margins translucent; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, 1.4-1.7 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 ablata L.H. Bailey