Herbs, perennial, 2--10 dm. Rhizomes densely branching. Culms 1--20. Cataphylls 1--3. Leaves basal, 2--3; auricles yellowish, 0.2--0.4 mm, leathery; blade flat, 5--30 cm x 0.5--1 mm, margins entire, turned up, occasionally involute. Inflorescences compact and few flowered to loose and lax with to 80 flowers, 1.5--5(--9) cm; primary bract usually exceeding inflorescence. Flowers: bracteoles 2; tepals greenish, lanceolate, 4--5 mm; inner series nearly equal, spreading in fruit, nearly equal to or exceeding capsule; stamens 6, filaments 0.8--1.2 mm, anthers 0.6--1 mm; style 0.2 mm. Capsules tan, 1-locular to pseudo-3-locular, ellipsoid, 2.9--3.6 x 1.5--1.9 mm. Seeds tan to amber, ellipsoid to lunate, 0.4--0.67 mm, not tailed. 2n = ca. 84. Flowering and fruiting spring--early summer. Exposed or shaded sites in sandy to clayey soils, usually moist areas such as along stream banks, ditches, around springs; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; Mexico.