Distribution: Southern British Columbia to California, east to the Rockies, Montana to New Mexico.

Habitat: Wet plasces, margins of streams and lakes, from near sea level to lower elevations in the mountains.

Flowers: July - August

Origin: Native

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Strongly rhizomatous perennial 1-7 dm. tall.

Leaves alternate, 1-4, the blades semi-terete, with prominent partitions; leaf bases sheathing, the sheaths projecting into membranous auricles 1-3 mm. long.

Inflorescence terminal, 2-8 cm. long, well above the leaf blades and much longer than the involucral bracts; heads 5-30, discrete to aggregated; perianth 3.5-4.5 mm. long, light brown to dark purplish-brown, the 6 segments lanceolate-acuminate, somewhat awl-shaped, the inner 3 segments slightly the shorter; stamens 6, anthers longer than the filaments.

Capsule about equal to the perianth, ovoid-cylindric, abruptly narrowed or rounded.