楔颖草 xie ying cao

Ischaemum paleaceum Trinius, Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math. 2: 293. 1833; Andropogon himalayensis Steudel; A. paleaceus (Trinius) Steudel; Apocopis himalayensis (Steudel) W. Watson; A. royleanus Nees.

Perennial with spreading rhizomes. Culms tufted, up to 60 cm tall, 3–7-noded. Leaf sheaths glabrous below middle, tuberculate-hispid toward blade; leaf blades linear-lanceolate, 2.5–7 × 0.2–0.6 cm, tuberculate-hispid, rarely glabrous, margins thickened, sometimes pectinate-hispid, apex acute; ligule 0.5–1 mm. Racemes 2–4, 2–4 cm; rachis internodes 2–2.5 mm, golden ciliate; pedicel golden bearded. Sessile spikelet 3.8–5 mm; callus golden bearded; lower glume broadly oblong, leathery, dark brown with a pale yellowish scarious band around apex and upper margins, glabrous, 2 outermost veins on each side connected below apex, connected vein minutely exserted, apex truncate, erose-denticulate, ciliolate; florets subequaling glumes; lower lemma lanceolate, apex obtuse to truncate; upper lemma apex truncate, awnless, or 2-denticulate, mucronate to shortly awned. Anthers 2.5–3 mm. Pedicelled spikelet absent. Fl. and fr. Apr–Aug.

Open hillsides. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam].

Some specimens from NE India have exserted, geniculate awns to 7 mm long.