General:
Perennial, densely tufted herb from short fibrous roots; stems 30-100 cm tall, usually a few together, about equalling the leaves, the lower ones reduced, 3-angled, the angles winged and saw-toothed above.

Leaves:
Sheaths cross-wrinkled; blades 3 to 6 per stem, borne on the lower 1/2, or sometimes the lower 3/4 of the stem, flat, 5-11 mm wide, the lower ones reduced.

Flowers:
Spikes numerous, usually densely aggregated into a cylindrical or egg-shaped, 3- to 10-cm long head, usually more or less separate below, egg-shaped, 2-3.5 cm long, unstalked, with both female and male flowers, the inconspicuous male flowers towards the tips; bracts short, inconspicuous, the lowest one usually hairlike, prolonged, 2-10 cm long.

Fruits:
Perigynia narrowly triangular, 4-5.2 mm long, 1.5-1.8 mm wide, plano-convex, strongly nerved, spreading, yellow to brownish-translucent, smooth, very short-stalked, finely toothed above, the beaks about the length of the bodies, bidentate; female scales egg-shaped, narrower, about the length of the perigynia, brownish-translucent, the midribs greenish and prolonged into awns, the margins translucent; stigmas 2; achenes lens-shaped, 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

View a video on identification of Carex stipata by Tony Reznicek (University of Michigan).