General: Perennial herb from a short, strong rhizome; flowering stems erect, 10-50 cm tall, often smooth below, glandular-short-hairy above especially below the inflorescence.
Leaves: Basal leaves several, tufted, broadly linear, 5-20 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, smooth, sheathing at the base, folded in iris-like fashion, the margins entire; stem leaves reduced or lacking, often 1, sometimes 2 or 3, near or below midlength.
Fruits: Capsules, 3-lobed and 3-beaked, erect, red or yellowish, 4-7 mm long; seeds numerous, about 1 mm long, ellipsoid, brownish, enclosed in tight-fitting spongy coats, with twisted tail-like appendages at one or both ends.
Wet meadows, bogs, fens and streambanks in the lowland to alpine zones; common in N and E BC, and on Queen Charlotte Islands and northern Vancouver Island; N to NT, E to NF and S to NH, NC, MN, ND and OR.
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)
