General:
Perennial, densely tufted herb from fibrous roots; stems 30-60 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal sheaths brownish, cross-wrinkled, persistent, not or only slightly expanded upwards, 2 of which with reduced or abortive blades generally borne above the basal cluster of leaves; blades about 1 mm wide or less, 1/2 as long to nearly as long as the stem, elongate, narrow, folded, the lower leaves with short blades less than 2 mm wide, the upper ones above the middle of the stem.

Flowers:
Spikes solitary, terminal, erect, egg-shaped and 1-2 cm long in flower, egg-shaped to nearly globe-shaped and 2-4 cm long in fruit; anthers short, up to about 1 mm long; involucral bracts lacking.

Fruits:
Scales of uniform colour, at least in the exposed portions, blackish-green, narrowly lanceolate, appressed to ascending, gradually tapering to slender tips, the midribs not reaching the tips, the sterile scales 10 to 15, below the fertile ones and appearing to gradually taper to the bases, or the sterile scales fewer and the spikes broader based, the lowermost scales 0.5-1 cm long, not reflexed; perianth bristles numerous, cream-coloured or yellow-tinged, surpassing the achenes; achenes brown, a little over 2 mm long, egg-shaped, sometimes narrowly so, somewhat sharp-pointed.

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