Herbs, perennial, tufted, 2--7 dm. Rhizomes densely branching. Culms 1--15(--25). Cataphylls 1--2(--3). . Leaves basal, (1--)2--3; auricles 0.2--0.4(--0.6) mm, scarious, rarely ± leathery; blade green, nearly terete, 10--30 cm x 0.5--1 mm, margins entire. Inflorescences terminal, 5--15(--30)-flowered, congested or not, 1--5 cm; primary bract usually much shorter than inflorescence. Flowers: bracteoles 2; tepals greenish to tan, lanceolate or widely so, 3.3--4.4 mm; outer and inner series nearly equal, apex acuminate; stamens 6, filaments 0.5--0.9 mm, anthers 0.4--0.8 mm; style 0.1--0.2 mm. Capsules golden tan or light brown, 3-locular, ellipsoid, (3.3--)3.8--4.7 x (1.1--)1.3--1.7 mm. Seeds tan, ellipsoid to lunate, body (0.52--)5.5--0.65(--0.7) mm, tails 0.2--0.5 mm. 2n = ca. 80. Flowering and fruiting summer--early fall. Permanently moist, usually exposed areas including wet meadows, raised sites or margins of bogs, or depressions along sandy lakeshores; 200--1500 m; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Labr.), N.W.T., N.S., Ont., Que., Sask.; Colo., Idaho, Ill., Iowa, Maine, Mich., Minn., Mont., N.Dak., N.Y., S.Dak., Vt., Wis., Wyo.
