龙盘拉薹草 long pan la tai cao

Rhizome short. Culms 65-90 cm tall, 2-3 mm thick, acutely trigonous, smooth, scabrous above, clothed at base with purple-brown bladeless sheaths. Leaves shorter than culm, blades broadly linear, 5-8 mm wide, upper margins scabrous, apex acuminate. Lower 2 involucral bracts leaflike, surpassing inflorescence, sheathless, remaining bracts setaceous. Spikes 7-9; terminal spike gynaecandrous, 3.5-5 cm, with peduncle 7-10 mm; lateral spikes female, occasionally with male flowers at base, 18-50 × 4-6 mm, with peduncles 2-3 mm, slender, pendent. Female glumes dark brown, oblong, 1.5-2 mm, green 3-veined costa excurrent into a scabrous short awn. Utricles stramineous with purple-red flecks, longer than glume, ovate, 2.8-3 mm, apex contracted into a short beak, orifice entire or emarginate. Nutlets brown, rather loosely enveloped, oblong, biconvex, 1.3-1.5 mm; style base not thickened; stigmas 2. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct.

● Forests; ca. 3000 m. Yunnan.