General:
Perennial, tufted herb from short rhizomes, without stolons; stems 10-35 cm tall.

Leaves:
Flat, fringed with fine hairs, 3-12 cm long, 3-5 mm wide; sheaths green.

Flowers:
Inflorescence with 1 or 2 unstalked and about 15 stalked clusters, each with 4 to 10 flowers, the branches arching, with the basal flowers remote; perianth segments pale to dark brown or blackish with wide, papery margins, 3-4 mm long, lanceolate to egg-shaped, pointed or short-awned, the inner about the same length as the outer; styles 0.6-1.2 mm long; stamens 6, anthers 0.6-1.2 mm long, longer than the filaments; bractlets scarcely fringed with a few hairs, less than 1/2 the length of the perianth segments; lower bract leaflike and well developed but shorter than the inflorescence, rarely as long as or longer than the inflorescence.

Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped, blunt or slightly notched on the tops, shorter than to longer than the perianth segments; seeds egg-shaped to rounded, 1.1-1.3 mm long, with minute appendages. vol6_7

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