狭果囊薹草 xia guo nang tai cao

Rhizome short, ligneous, without stolons. Culm tufted, 30-35 cm, rather thin, obtusely trigonous, smooth, brown and bladeless sheathed at base. Leaves shorter or slightly longer than culm, blades 3-6 mm wide, flat, scabrous on apex margin and veins, slightly long sheathed. Involucral bracts leaflike, longer than inflorescence, rather shortly sheathed. Spikes 3 or 4, lowermost one remote, others approximate at top of culm; terminal spike male, narrowly cylindric, 2.5-5 cm, subsessile; lateral spikes female, narrowly cylindric, 1.5-3.5 cm, densely many flowered, lowermost spike slightly long pedunculate, upper ones shortly pedunculate or subsessile. Female glumes yellowish, with short red-brown striae, narrowly oblong, ca. 1.8 mm, membranous, 1-costate, costa green, apex obtuse, muticous. Utricles yellowish brown, obliquely patent, later nearly horizontally patent, slightly longer than glume, obovate, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, membranous, densely purple-red glandular punctate, distinctly 5-veined, base cuneate or broadly cuneate, shortly stipitate, apex attenuate into a short beak, orifice subtruncate or emarginate. Nutlets yellowish white, tightly enveloped in utricles, obovate, trigonous, ca. 1.2 mm, apex with inflected mucro; style base not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Apr-May.

● Wet places on mountain slopes; ca. 1600 m. Sichuan (Emei Shan, Mabian).