General:
Perennial, tufted herb, sometimes forming mats; stems more or less solid, triangular in cross-section, 10-40 cm tall.

Leaves:
Sheaths closed; blades in-rolled, threadlike, 0.2-0.4 mm wide.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1 or 2, compact, axillary or terminal heads, the terminal head egg-shaped, the lateral ones remote, nearly unstalked, each head with 2 to 10, reddish-brown to dark brown, erect or ascending spikes, the axillary heads each with 1 to 4 spikes; involucral bracts longer than inflorescence, 1-2 cm long.

Fruits:
Scales translucent on the margins, spirally arranged within the spikes; perianth bristles 6, finely barbed backwards, surpassing the achenes; achenes often obscurely marked with dark horizontal lines, broadest above the middle, conspicuously narrowed towards the bases, 2.5-4.2 mm long, less than 1/2 as wide, capped by tubercles, 1/2 to nearly as long as the achenes.

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:
Rhynchospora capillacea var. leviseta E.J. Hill ex A. Gray
Rhynchospora smallii Britton