General:
Perennial herb from stout, creeping rhizomes; stems 20-90 cm tall, arising singly or a few together, longer than the leaves.

Leaves:
Sheaths green, the lower ones bladeless; blades 2 to 5 per stem, crowded toward the base, flat or nearly so, 1-2.5 mm wide.

Flowers:
Spikes 5 to 15, 0.5-1 cm long, clustered into an egg-shaped or nearly cylindrical, 1- to 3-cm long head, usually distinguishable, unstalked, with both female and male flowers (sometimes with nearly or all male flowers or nearly or all female flowers), the male flowers towards the tips; bracts of the spikes inconspicuous, up to 1.5 cm long, much like the female scales.

Fruits:
Perigynia broadly egg-shaped to elliptical, 1.7-2.5 mm long, 1.3-1.5 mm wide, appressed ascending, green to shiny-brown, strongly flattened, smooth, few-nerved below, short-stalked, the beaks entire, finely-toothed, 0.3-0.5 mm long; female scales egg-shaped, as long as and slightly wider than the perigynia, awn-tipped, brown, the midribs pale, the margins translucent; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, smooth, 1.2-1.5 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