General:
Perennial, loosely tufted herb from stout, creeping rhizomes; stems 10-35 cm tall, longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths tight, bladeless below; blades 4 to 9 per stem, flat or channeled, borne on the lower 1/4 of the stem, 1-3 mm wide.

Flowers:
Spikes solitary, cylindrical to egg-shaped, 8-20 mm long, erect, with both female and male flowers, the male flowers towards the tips, rarely the spikes with all male or all female flowers; bractless.

Fruits:
Perigynia lanceolate to egg-shaped, 3-4.5 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, appressed but spreading and reflexed at maturity, smooth, nerveless, long-stalked, the beaks short, bidentate; female scales lanceolate to egg-shaped, much shorter than the perigynia, deciduous, pointed to rounded, dark brown, the midribs pale, the margins thin; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, 1.5-2 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