武山薹草 wu shan tai cao

Rhizome long, obliquely ascending, woody. Culms 28-40 cm tall, slender, clothed at base with brown sheaths disintegrating into fibers. Leaves shorter than culm, blades linear, 1.5-3 mm wide, flat. Involucral bracts shortly bladed, long sheathing. Spikes 2 or 3, distant; terminal spike male, cylindric, 2-3 cm, peduncles 6-10 cm; lateral spikes female, sometimes with several male flowers at apex, oblong, 1.5-1.8 cm, 2-4-flowered, peduncles 1.5-2.5 cm. Female glumes pale, oblong, green 3-veined costa excurrent into a mucro. Utricles brown-green, longer than glume, obliquely patent, oblong, trigonous, ca. 9 mm, membranous, pubescent, many veined, base cuneate, apex abruptly contracted into a long beak, orifice 2-toothed. Nutlets tightly enveloped, oblong, ca. 4 mm, sessile, apical beak ca. 1.3 mm; style base thickened; stigmas 3. Fr. Jun.

● Slopes; ca. 1600 m. Gansu (Wushan, Zhangxian).