General:
Perennial, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 20-70 cm tall, exceeding the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths tight; blades flat, 1.5-4 mm wide, borne on the lower 1/3 of the stem.

Flowers:
Spikes 3 to 8, aggregated into a 1- to 2-cm long head, unstalked, with both female and male flowers, the female ones towards the tips; bracts subtending the spikes sheathless, reduced, inconspicuous.

Fruits:
Perigynia egg-shaped, 3-3.5 mm long, 1.3-2 mm wide, deep green to yellowish-brown, flattened on the lower sides, bulging at the back, the margins narrowly winged nearly to the bases, the upper 1/2 fringed with teeth, several-nerved on the back, nerveless below, the beaks obliquely cut, 1-1.5 mm long, narrowly margined and toothed below; female scales triangular, reddish-brown, with narrow translucent margins and green midribs, somewhat shorter and narrower than the perigynia; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 1.5 mm long, nearly filling the bodies of the perigynia.

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