柴达木臭草 chai da mu chou cao

Perennial, loosely tufted, with short rhizomes, basal sheaths finally fibrous. Culms 20–60 cm tall, ca. 1 mm in diam., scabrid below panicle, 2–3-noded. Leaf sheaths scabrid or pubescent; leaf blades flat or slightly rolled, 5–10 cm × 1–2.7 mm, abaxial surface scabrid, adaxial surface scabrid to pubescent; ligule 0.5–1.5 mm, lobe on side opposite blade ca. 3 mm, this soon splitting. Panicle lax, narrow, 6–16 cm; branches suberect or spreading, 1–2 cm, 1-sided, bearing 1–5 spaced spikelets. Spikelets ovate, 6.8–8.3 mm, flushed grayish purple, fertile florets 2 or 3, terminal sterile lemmas gathered into globular cluster; glumes membranous, lower glume elliptic to broadly ovate, 5–7 mm, 3–5-veined, upper glume oblong, 6–8.2 mm, 5–9-veined, obtuse or acute; lemmas broadly oblong, lowest 5–8 mm, herbaceous, 7–9-veined, tuberculate-scabrid, a very few ca. 0.5 mm hairs sometimes present at middle back, apex broadly membranous, obtuse or weakly emarginate; palea keels ciliolate. Anthers 1.2–2.2 mm. Fl. and fr. May–Aug.

Rocky slopes, mountain valleys; 2000–3900 m. Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi [Mongolia].