General: Perennial, loosely tufted herb from elongated rhizomes; stems 20-50 cm tall, green or slightly reddish at the base.
Leaves: Flat, sparsely fringed with fine hairs at the base of the blades, shorter than the stems, about 5-15 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, the stem leaves (3) 4 or more, broadly linear to lanceolate, pointed, bluish or greyish-green, dull, thick to thin; basal sheaths green or slightly reddish.
Flowers: Inflorescence loose, open, nodding, with flowers borne singly or in 2-flowered clusters, the stalks arched; perianth segments brown with distinct midribs, translucent, 1.8-2.3 mm long, lanceolate, pointed, the inner about the same length as the outer; stamens 6; anthers 0.4-0.6 mm long, about as long as or shorter than the filaments; bractlets entire to deeply cut, but never strongly fringed; bracts entire to slightly fringed.
Fruits: Capsules, ellipsoid, usually blackish-brown, pointed, slightly longer than the perianth segments; seeds cylindrical, about 1.2 mm long, lacking appendages.
Dry to moist meadows, shrubby slopes and streambanks in the montane and subalpine zones; frequent in mountains throughout BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NY, MI, WY and CA; Eurasia, Greenland.
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)
A shade-tolerant/intolerant, sub montane to subalpine, circumpolar graminoid (transcontinental in North America). Occurs on fresh to very moist, nitrogen-medium soils within boreal, wet temperate, and cool mesothermal climates. Sporadic on water-shedding and water-receiving sites. Often associated with Blechnum spicant, Dryopteris expansa, Gymnocarpium dryopteris, and Polystichum munitum. Characteristic of friable Mor and acidic Moder humus forms.
