Luzula arcuata var. unalaschkensis Buchenau, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 12: 124. 1890; L. arcuata var. kamtschadalorum Samuelsson; L. beringensis Tolmachev; L. kamtschadolarum (Samuelsson) Gorodkov; L. unalaschkensis (Buchenau) Satake; L. unalaschkensis subsp. kamtschdalorum (Samuelsson) Tolmachev

Stolons short to (rarely) 15 cm. Culms loosely cespitose, usually slightly arched, 15--30 cm, thin. Leaves: sheaths brownish purple, throats rounded, densely pilose; basal leaves flat, 8--15 cm x 3--5 mm, not reaching inflorescences, margins pubescent; cauline leaves 1--3, smaller than basal, not reaching inflorescences. Inflorescences corymbose, proximal branch longest; glomerules 8--15 (each with 3--5 flowers, sometimes reduced to 1--2 flowers), pedunculate, capitate or spicate; branches mostly arching in same direction (often branching at apex); proximal inflorescence bract bladeless; bracts and bracteoles brown, ciliate. . Flowers: tepals light brown, (margins ± ciliate, apex acuminate, usually distinctly awned), 1.8--3 mm; anthers ± equaling filament length. Capsules brown, ellipsoid, shorter than tepals; (beak short). Seeds brown (with few hairs present), 1 mm, few hairs present; caruncle generally indistinct. 2n = 36.

Flowering and fruiting summer. Rocky to gravelly snow patches on mountains, dry to mesic meadows, and patches of bare soil in heaths; 50--2500 m; Alta., B.C., N.W.T., Yukon; Alaska, Mont., Wash.; e Asia.

In Luzula arcuata subsp. unalaschkensis the sheath throats are rounded and densely pilose; basal leaves are flat with pubescent margins.