General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short rhizomes; stems 10-25 cm tall, with deep purple-brown, shiny bases.

Leaves:
Mostly folded, sparsely fringed with fine hairs, about 5-15 cm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, gradually tapering to sharp tips; basal sheaths reddish-brown to deep purple-brown, shiny.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a solitary, unstalked, dark to blackish-brown, dense cluster with about 8 to 15 flowers and 1 to 3, smaller, dense clusters on long, stiff, straight stalks, the outer clusters on erect stalks or nearly unstalked; perianth segments dark brown, 2-2.5 mm long, broadly lanceolate, pointed, the inner about the same length as the outer; stamens 6; anthers 0.4-0.6 mm long, about the same length as the filaments; bractlets strongly fringed with coarse hairs, nearly equal or sometimes surpassing the flowers, the lower bract poorly developed.

Fruits:
Capsules, broadly egg-shaped, short abrupt-pointed, slightly shorter than the perianth segments; seeds spindle-shaped, pale brown, about 1 mm long, lacking appendages.

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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Juncoides hyperboreum (R. Br.) Sheldon p.p.
Luzula hyperborea R. Br. p.p.