Annual, biennial or perennial with hollow, upright, leafless stems; clumps of many grass-like leaves grow from the plant base. White to pale pink flowers with brown or reddish center stripes grow on spike-like clusters.
Herb, annual or perennial or biennial, from swollen rhizomes; leaves numerous, basal, blade narrow; stems hollow; sepals similar shapes, barely fused, prominently veined; stamens 6, filaments base expanded; style 1, weakly 3-branched; ovary 3-chambered.
Habitat
Found in dry, sandy and rocky places as well as pastures, open woodlands, rangelands, roadsides, railway lines, fields and waste places.
Flower Characteristics
Each flower is about 3/4 inch across and has 6 white to pale pink tepals (sepals and petals). Each tepal has a brown or reddish stripe down its center. Up to 30 of these flowers are widely spaced along the upper parts of the branched flowering stem.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are grass-like, a bit fleshy, smooth, hollow and rounded or slightly flattened on their upper surface. Leaves grow to nearly 14 inches long and from 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Hollow stems are rigid, smooth and usually branched in their upper parts.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Each fruit is a brown, rounded capsule, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, with a wrinkled surface (rugose) and divided into 3 segments (chambers) each containing 1 to 2 seeds. Fruits turn from greenish to reddish-brown to brown as they mature.
The seeds remain viable for several years and are easily transported in trade, on vehicles and by animals. Each seed is triangular, dark brown or black, 1/8 to 1/4 inch long and marked by deep depressions (pits) making for a rough surface texture.