Carex monotropa Nelmes

Loosely tufted. Rhizome extremely short. Stems erect, trigonous, 2-3 cm tall, 0.5-1 mm thick, smooth. Leaves sheathing and clothing all the stem, up to rather more than twice its length, 1.5-3 mm wide, flat to somewhat folded. Spikes 3 or 4, all densely crowded at the apex of the stem, terminal usually male, sometimes female, about 4-7 mm long, when male slenderly (1-1.5 mm.) cylindric, lateral spikes widely or rather widely spreading, female, more or less globose, 5-7 mm long, 4-6 mm thick, subdense-flowered, subsessile or scarcely to shortly exserted-peduncled. Bracts of the lateral spikes foliaceous or sub-foliaceous, slightly to much exceeding the inflorescence, shortly sheathing. Female glumes ovate, oblong-ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, flattish to cymbiform, apex very obtuse to truncate-rounded, 2.5-3 mm long, 1.2-1.6 mm wide, pale or pale greenish below and rich castaneous above except for a greenish stripe along the midrib area, midrib not excurrent. Utricles not quite mature, ellipsoid but tapering at each end, especially above, compressed-trigonous, 4-5 mm long, 1.25-1.5 mm broad, membranaceous, strongly and rather closely nerved on each face, narrowly marginate, glabrous, straightish, not widely spreading, pale below, green above, not stipitate; beak tapering below, compressed, 1.25-1.5 mm long, narrowly marginate, glabrous, straight, green, shortly bidentate; teeth straight. Achene not fully developed, obovoid, trigonous, 1.25-1.5 mm long, about 1 mm broad, shortly and slenderly beaked.