Herbs, perennial, cespitose, dark olive green to bronze or blackish when dry, to 4.5 dm, not glaucous. Stems branched, with 1–2 nodes, 2.3–5 mm wide, glabrous, margins often minutely denticulate especially basally, similar in color and texture to stem body; first internode 10–30 cm, usually longer than leaves; distalmost node with 1–3 branches. Leaf blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. Inflorescences borne singly; spathes usually green, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels denticulate to entire; outer 18–38 mm, 2–9.5 mm longer than inner, usually tapering evenly towards apex, margins basally connate 4–6 mm; inner with keel evenly curved or straight, hyaline margins 0.1–0.3 mm wide, apex acuminate to acute, ending 0.2–0.7 mm proximal to green apex. Flowers: tepals pale blue to violet, occasionally white, bases yellow; outer tepals 7.7–12.5 mm, apex rounded or emarginate, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally; ovary similar in color to foliage. Capsules dark brown or black, sometimes with purplish tinge, ± globose, 4–7 mm; pedicel spreading or ascending. Seeds globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.5–1.2 mm, rugulose. 2n = 96.
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Bright green, turning darker in drying; stems 1.5–5 dm, somewhat spreading, mostly not geniculate, thin and flattened, broadly winged, (2–)2.5–4 mm wide, the wings individually wider than the central part and minutely denticulate on the margin; lvs mostly 2–6 mm wide; spathes evidently peduncled from the axils of lf-like bracts, mostly not geniculate, the outer bract commonly 2–4 cm, its margins connate for (2.5–)3.5–6 mm at base, the inner bract evidently shorter, commonly 1.3–2.2 cm; tep blue, 7–10 mm; fr 4–6 mm; 2n=48. Meadows, grassy places, and damp woods; Nf. to Minn., s. to Fla. and Tex. (S. graminoides; S. gramineum)
A herb that forms clumps. The stems are flat or 2 sided. It grows 50 cm tall.
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