General:
Perennial herb from creeping rhizomes; stems 10-90 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths brownish to purplish or blackish, persistent; blades 2-6 (8) mm wide, flat but becoming narrow and folded toward the tips, the uppermost ones equalling or exceeding the sheaths.

Flowers:
Spikes 2 to 10, terminal, erect, at least some of them pendulous, egg-shaped and 1-2 cm long in flower, 2-4 cm long in fruit; anthers 2.5-4 mm long; involucral bracts several, unequal, 2 or more of them evidently leaflike, the longest ones equalling or surpassing the inflorescence.

Fruits:
Scales brownish or blackish-green, egg-shaped to lanceolate, appressed to ascending, 1-ribbed, pointed, the slender midribs not reaching the tips; perianth bristles numerous, whitish, creamy-white to tawny, many times longer than the achenes; achenes blackish, 2-3 mm long, broadly lanceolate to egg-shaped.

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:
Yellow

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

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

Source:  The USDA

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Eriophorum angustifolium subsp. triste (Th. Fr.) Hultén