多脉早熟禾 duo mai zao shu he

Perennials, loosely tufted, rhizomatous; shoots extravaginal. Culm base slightly decumbent, 30–55 cm × 1–2.5 mm, nodes 3 or 4, 1 or 2 exserted. Leaf sheaths strongly keeled with a narrow wing, basal ones finely retrorse strigose, becoming fibrous, middle and upper ones smooth, 11–15 cm, ca. 3 × as long as blade, uppermost closed for 1/2–2/3 of length; blade flat or folded, moderately thin, 3–8 cm × (1.5–)4–5 mm, surfaces smooth, or adaxially sparsely scabrid, margins and keel smooth or scabrid, apex abruptly prow-tipped, tillers to 15 cm × 2 mm; ligules brown, membranous, ca. 2 mm, abaxially smooth, apex acuminate. Panicle open, lax, 10–17 × 2–6 cm, longest internode 3–4 cm; branches spreading, 2 per node, smooth throughout or with infrequent hooks, longest 3–8 cm with 3–6 well-spaced spikelets in distal 1/3. Spikelets elliptic, 5.5–7 mm, florets 3 or 4; vivipary absent; rachilla internodes to 1.2 mm, smooth, glabrous; glumes broadly lanceolate, keel scabrid above, surfaces minutely punctate with or without purple papillae, lower glume 4.5–5 mm, 3-veined, upper glume ca. 5 mm, 3(or 5)-veined, smooth or sparsely scabrid; lemmas broadly elliptic, ca. 5 mm, 5–7-veined, keel slightly arched, keel shortly villous for 2/3 of length, marginal veins for 1/2, intermediate veins prominent, surfaces proximally densely pilulose, distally sparsely scabrid; callus glabrous or scantily webbed with a few hairs to 1/2 as long as lemma; palea with slender hooks to proximally pilulose between keels, keels medially pilulose, distally scabrid. Anthers 1.6–2.2 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun–Aug.

High mountains, grassy slopes; ca. 4000 m. Xizang [India (Sikkim)].

The type of Poa polyneuron is from the India-Xizang border. Rajbhandari (Bull. Univ. Mus. Univ. Tokyo 34: 203. 1991) discussed it under P. gammieana. It also approaches P. grandis. The flowers examined were perfect, but if it were related to P. grandis it would be expected also to have female florets.