Cauline leaves 2--3, not overlapping; proximal inflorescence bract not conspicuously exceeding inflorescence. Tepals: outer and inner whorl dark brown to chestnut to blackish, outer whorl pointed, inner whorl truncate-mucronate. Capsules dark chestnut to blackish, equal to slightly exceeding tepals. Seeds 1.1--1.4 mm; caruncle 0.2--0.3 mm. 2n = 36.

Flowering and fruiting summer. Peaty barrens, slopes, fields, heaths, grasslands, and snowbeds; 50--1800 m; Greenland; B.C., Man., Nfld. and Labr. (Labr.), N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Yukon; Alaska, Maine, Mass., N.H., Vt.; Eurasia.