General: Perennial herb from elongated rhizomes; stems arising singly, erect, 15-25 cm tall.
Leaves: Located on the lower part of the stem, nearly circular in cross-section, tapered, the early leaves stiff, with prominent complete cross-walls; sheaths open, with rounded, ear-shaped lobes.
Flowers: Numerous, in single, terminal, hemispheric heads; perianth segments dark brown, 3-4.5 mm long, pointed, the inner about the same length or shorter than the outer; stamens 6; anthers 0.6 mm long, shorter than the filaments; involucral bract solitary, short, equalling or exceeding the inflorescence.
Fruits: Capsules, cylindrical to egg-shaped, rounded or with small depressions, slightly shorter than the perianth segments; seeds barrel-like, about 0.4 mm long, lacking tail-like appendages.
Moist to wet meadows, pond edges, grassy streamsides, snowbed sites and open boggy forests from the montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to AB and S to SD, NM, AZ and CA; Japan.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
