It grows in many types of mountainous and arctic habitat, including temperate coniferous forest, alpine meadows, tundra, and wetlands.

It produces triangular stems reaching heights between 20 cm (8 in) and 1.5 m (5 ft), and generally does not form clumps as some other sedges do.

It grows from a dense rhizome network which produces a mat of fine roots thick enough to form sod, and includes aerenchyma to allow the plant to survive in low-oxygen substrates like heavy mud.

[3] In fact, in any given year, most shoots produce no flowers.

[3] This perennial plant lives up to 10 years or more, can form peat as its rhizome system decomposes, and is sometimes used to revegetate areas where peat has been harvested.