General: Perennial herb from elongated rhizomes; stems arising singly, not in dense clusters, round, usually straight, smooth, finely grooved, 15-40 cm tall.
Leaves: Reduced to small sheaths at the base of the stem; sheaths dull, light brown.
Flowers: Inflorescence a head-like cluster, with numerous flowers on branches 0.5-3 cm long, appearing as if on the side of the stem, located about halfway between the tip of the involucral bract and the base of the stem; perianth segments pale green or whitish, 3-4 mm long, pointed, subequal; stamens 6; anthers shorter than the filaments; involucral bract 7-20 cm long, cylindrical, resembling a continuation of the stem, subequal to longer than the stem.
Fruits: Capsules, globe-shaped, slightly shorter than the perianth segments; seeds egg-shaped, 0.4-0.5 mm long.
Moist meadows and wet sandy lakeshores from the lowland and steppe to subalpine zones; infrequent throughout BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT, and NT, E to NF and S to MA, WV, PA, MI, WI, MN, NE, NM, UT, ID and OR; Eurasia, Patagonia.
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)
