E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from stout rhizomes, forming large colonies; stems circular in cross-section, tapered, firm, not easily crushed between the fingers, 100-300 (500) cm tall.

Leaves:
Few, borne mainly or entirely toward the bases of the stems; sheaths prominent, well-developed; blades short, poorly-developed, or bladeless.

Fruits:
Scales pale grey-white with numerous, short, linear, reddish-brown marks, more or less sticky short-hairy, mostly (3) 3.5-4 mm long, broadly egg-shaped, the margins somewhat irregularly jagged or fringed with cobwebby, soft, long-tangled hairs, the midri