密穗薹草 mi sui tai cao

Carex curaica Kunth subsp. pycnostachya (Karelin & Kirilov) T. V. Egorova; C. curaica var. pycnostachya (Karelin & Kirilov) Kükenthal.

Rhizome long creeping. Culms 10-50 cm tall, obtusely trigonous, stout. Leaves flat, blades linear, 4-6 mm wide, subfalcate, apex acuminate. Involucral bracts leaflike at base. Spicate inflorescence ovate, dense; spikes androgynous (sometimes male ones in middle), oblong, 6-12(-15) mm. Female glumes pale brown, 1-veined, apex acuminate. Utricles brown or olivaceous, longer than glume, ovate to ovate-elliptic, plano-convex, 3.2-4 mm, 5-8-veined, with veins evanescent, margins scarcely scabrous winged, apex gradually contracted into a beak. Stigmas 2. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.

Grassy slopes, alpine meadows; ca. 1800 m. Xinjiang [NW Mongolia, Russia (W Siberia); C Asia].