わが国の各地をはじめ、台湾や朝鮮半島、中国それにインドネシア、インドに分布しています。湿地や沼沢地に生え、高さは1メートル以上になります。茎は3稜形で、水中の根から放射状にでます。8月から10月ごろ、淡緑色から淡褐色で長楕円形の小穂を、4〜10個横向きにつけます。和名は、枯れた茎が冬になっても残っていることから。台湾華語では「水毛花」、中国名では「水毛花(shui mao hua)」。
The "Kangare-i" (Scirpus triangulatus) belongs to Cyperaceae (the Sedge family). It is a perennial herb that ia native all over Japan, as well as Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, China, Indonesia and India. This herb grows in bogs and marshes, and can reach up to 1 m in height. The stems are triquetrous and borne radially on the aquatic rootstocks. The spikelets are pale green to pale brown, oblong, and 4-10 spikelets are borne sideways from August to October. The dead stems remain through winter. The Japanese name "寒枯藺" comes from the fact that the withered stems remain in winter. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is "水毛花"; in Chinese, it is "水毛花" (shui mao hua).