General:
Perennial herb from creeping rhizomes or stolons, extensively colonial; stem 20-75 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal sheaths brown to purplish-brown, cross-wrinkled, persistent, not or only somewhat expanded upwards, the uppermost sheaths usually bladeless; stem leaves few, usually 1 to 3, located below the middle of the stems, mostly borne near the bases, rarely one above; blades 0.4-2 mm wide, short to elongate, thread-like, folded throughout or triangular in cross-section.

Flowers:
Spikes solitary, terminal, erect, at least some of them pendulous, appearing broad-based, egg-shaped-cylindrical and 1.5-2 cm long in flower, globe-shaped and 2-4 cm long in fruit; anthers mostly 1-3 (3.2) mm long; involucral bracts lacking.

Fruits:
Scales blackish to greyish, the middle scales lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, appressed to ascending, the midribs not reaching the tips, more or less long and sharp-pointed or blunt, with narrow, pale margins or broad translucent margins, the sterile sc

Notes:
Two, sometimes difficult to separate, varieties occur in BC:

1. Perianth bristles rust-coloured; plants stout, the stems over 1.5 mm wide at the bases; middle scales lanceolate, more or less long-pointed, with narrow, pale margins...................... var. chamissonis.

1. Perianth bristles white to tawny; plants slender, the stems less than 1.5 mm wide at the bases; middle scales broadly lanceolate, blunt, with broad translucent margins..................... var. albidum (Nyl.) Fern.

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