Japan Flora: Rhizomes short-creeping with abbreviated in­ternodes; culms slender, nearly terete, 30-90 cm. long inclusive of the cnlmlike lowest bract of the inflorescence, the basal sheaths few, scalelike; inflorescence a pseudolateral, few-flow­ered cyme, the lowest bract appearing like a continuation of the culm, 10-20 (-40) cm. long, sometimes longer than the culm; flowers about 3.5 mm. long including the capsule, peri­anth-segments narrowly lanceolate, the outer acute, longer than the somewhat obtuse inner segments; stamens 6, half as long as the inner perianth-segments, anthers half as long as the filaments; capsule oblong, obtuse, yellowish, nearly as long as the inner perianth-segments; seeds ellipsoidal, 0.7 mm. long.  Wet or swampy places in alpine or subalpine regions.

Hokkaido, Honshu (centr. distr.). Sakhalin and the Kuriles to Siberia, Europe, and N. America.