蟋蟀薹草 xi shuai tai cao

Rhizome short. Culms tufted, 30-40 cm tall, slender, compressed trigonous, slightly scabrous above, clothed at base with purple-red or brown bladeless sheaths eventually disintegrating into parallel fibers. Leaves shorter than or subequaling culm, blades gray-green, linear, 2.5-4 mm wide, flat, papillose, margins scabrous. Lower 1 or 2 involucral bracts leaflike, surpassing inflorescence, sheathless, upper glumelike. Spikes 3-5, approximate, cylindric, 10-25 × ca. 0.5 mm, densely many flowered; terminal spike gynaecandrous or with male flowers at apex or base, female in middle; lateral spikes female, upper 2 or 3 sessile or subsessile, lower 1 or 2 with peduncles up to ca. 1.5 mm. Female glumes dark purple-black, oblong-elliptic, ca. 2.5 × 1.2-2 mm, with a light midrib, margins narrowly white hyaline, apex obtuse. Utricles light brown or light green, sometimes red or purple spotted above, longer than glume, suberect, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, plano-convex, (2-)2.5-3 mm, membranous, indistinctly veined, base shortly stipitate, apex abruptly contracted into a short cylindric reddish brown beak, orifice entire or slightly emarginate. Nutlets tightly enveloped, broadly obovate, 1.5-1.7 × ca. 1.3 mm, base very shortly stipitate; style base not thickened; stigmas 2. 2n = 84.

Alpine frozen soil, wet places; 1700-2500 m. Jilin [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, E Siberia); North America (Alaska, NW Canada)].