穗三毛(原亚种) sui san mao (yuan ya zhong)

Aira spicata Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 64. 1753; A. subspicata Linnaeus, nom. illeg. superfl.; Trisetum subspicatum (Linnaeus) P. Beauvois, nom. illeg. superfl.

Plant up to 30 cm tall. Culms, leaf blades, and sheaths nearly glabrous to densely pubescent. Panicle narrowly oblong, 2–4 cm, usually purplish or brownish, dense. Spikelet with 2 florets; lower glume 4–5.5 mm, keel scabrid, upper glume 5–6 mm; lowest lemma 4–5 mm, smooth or scaberulous; awn 4–6 mm, weakly geniculate, twisted below. Fl. and fr. Jun–Sep.

Grassy mountain slopes, alpine meadows; above 1900 m. Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang [Russia; Europe, North America].

This is a panarctic taxon, extending southward into the mountains of C Asia and W North America. It is not known from the Himalayas.