Japan Flora: Rhizomes short-creep­ing, with very short internodes; culms tufted, naked, terete, inconspicuously striate, 15-40 cm. tall; leaves at the basal part of the culm scalelike, more or less lustrous; inflorescence pseudolateral, 2- to 5-flowered, the lowest bract terete, appear­ing like a continuation of the culm, 2-4 cm. long, as long as or longer than the inflorescence; flowers 5-6 mm. long including the capsule, long-pedicelled; perianth-segments lanceolate, acute, black-brown, equal in length; stamens 6, slightly shorter than the perianth-segments, the anthers linear, 2-3 mm. long, the filaments very short; capsule ellipsoidal, dark brown, longer than the perianth, obtuse; seeds oblong, 1 mm. long, long-tailed at both ends, to 3 mm. long. July-Aug. Wet alpine slopes.

Hokkaido, Honshu (ccntr. distr.). Kam­chatka and Bering Sea coast.