General:
Annual, tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems stout, mostly 5-70 cm tall.

Leaves:
Clustered towards the bases; blades well-developed, mostly 2-9 mm wide, elongate, about as long as the stem.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense, more or less elongate, head-like clusters, the terminal clusters unstalked, the others on rays up to 7 cm long (or some rays bearing only single spikes), each cluster with numerous, crowded, spirally arranged, cylindrical spikes on the elongate axis of the inflorescence, the spikes 1-4 cm long, the spikelets 6- to many-flowered, 3-12 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, slender, horizontally spreading; involucral bracts several, elongate, unequal, sometimes a little wider than the leaves, much surpassing the inflorescence.

Fruits:
Scales obscurely nerved, egg-shaped, closely set, the tips surpassing the ones below them by 0.4-0.7 mm, not recurved, the margins narrow, golden brown, the keels prominent, excurrent, green, 1.2-1.5 mm long; rachillas narrowly translucent-winged, persistent, but the scales eventually falling from them and the wings readily deciduous in short segments at maturity; stamens 3; achenes unequally 3-angled, pale, shining, 0.7-1 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:
Mid Summer

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: White
Present from Summer to Fall

Source:  The USDA

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Cyperus halei Torr. ex Britton