General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short creeping rhizomes; stems 15-60 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths purplish-red towards the bases; blades flat, 2-6 mm wide, the lower ones much reduced.

Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 7, the terminal one with male flowers, the lower spikes 2 to 6, with female flowers, short-stalked, 0.6-2.5 cm long, erect to ascending, rarely nodding; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, bristlelike to leaflike, about equalling the spikes.

Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped, 3.5-4 mm long, 1.8-2 mm wide, pale yellow to purple-black, nerveless, the beaks short, less than 0.5 mm long; female scales lanceolate, nearly as long as and narrower than the perigynia, pointed at the tips, reddish-black, with light brown margins; stigmas 3; achenes 3-angled, 1.5-1.7 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 podocarpa var. paysonis (Clokey) B. Boivin
Carex tolmiei auct. non Boott