15b. Poa bucharica subsp. karateginensis (Roshevitz ex Ovczinnikov) Tzvelev, Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 11: 28. 1974.
卡拉蒂早熟禾 ka la di zao shu he
Poa karateginensis Roshevitz ex Ovczinnikov, Izv. Tadzh. Bazy Akad. Nauk SSSR 1: 12. 1933; P. suruana H. Hartmann.
Culms 20–65(–70) cm tall, lower internodes smooth. Leaf sheaths, uppermost 3–4 × as long as blade; ligules 0.3–2.7 mm; uppermost blades 1–4 cm. Panicle open, pyramidal, diffuse, (3–)6–15 × 3–9 cm; branches ascending to spreading, 2 or 3(or 4) per node, smooth or distally sparsely scabrid, longest 2–7 cm with 2–5 spikelets in distal 1/2. Spikelets 6–7 mm, florets 3 or 4(–5); rachilla internodes 1–1.5 mm, smooth; lower glume 3–3.5 mm, upper glume 3.5–4 mm; lemmas thinly papery, 4–5 mm, intermediate veins moderately distinct; palea with 5–15 hooks per keel. Anthers 2–3 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Aug.
Alpine grassy slopes; ca. 3000 m. Xinjiang [Kashmir, W Tajikistan (Karataginsky Range)].
The type of Poa suruana, from Kashmir (Karakorum Mountains), resembles subsp. karateginensis in its open panicle with fairly smooth branches, but seems intermediate to subsp. bucharica in its more typical glumes and longer panicle with a few more spikelets per branch, distinct ligules to ca. 2 mm long, and height of 65–70 cm. Poa bucharica subsp. aksuensis Roshevitz ex Tzvelev keys out to subsp. karateginensis but has palea keels each with 15–40 spinules. It comprises plants from the Tian Shan on or near the Kyrgyzstan-China border and potentially occurs in China.