枝花隐子草 zhi hua yin zi cao

Kengia ramiflora (Keng & C. P. Wang) H. Yu & N. X. Zhao.

Culms tufted, erect or slightly decumbent at base, 25–35 cm tall. Leaf sheaths glabrous but pilose at mouth; leaf blades narrowly linear, flat or involute, ascending, 3–10 × ca. 0.2 cm; ligule short. Panicle narrow, 5–9 cm, lowest branch 2–4 cm. Spikelets 7–9 mm, florets 3–4; glumes lanceolate, 1-veined; lower glume 2–4 mm; upper glume 4–5 mm; lemmas lanceolate, purplish at margin and apex, lowest 5–6(–7) mm, acute or with a mucro to 0.5 mm; palea slightly shorter than lemma. Anthers ca. 3 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sep.

* Mountain meadows, thickets. Nei Mongol.

No material of this species has been seen. The description is taken from the protologue. The spikelets are very similar to those of Cleisto-genes mucronata, but the habit is different, as shown in the illustration accompanying the protologue, with softly ascending leaf blades of more or less equal length throughout.