野笠薹草 ye li tai cao

Rhizome long stoloniferous. Culms 60-70(-100) cm tall, obtusely trigonous, rather stout, smooth or scabrous on upper part, clothed with red-brown and bladeless sheaths at base, sheaths split into reticulate fibers on margins. Leaves shorter than culm, blades 4-6(-10) mm wide, flat, glabrous, only pubescent on membranous part of sheaths, or laxly pubescent on abaxial surface, scabrous on margins, rather long sheathed. Involucral bracts leafy, lower 1 or 2 involucral bracts longer than inflorescence, slightly long sheathed, upper involucral bracts usually shorter than inflorescence, shortly sheathed; male spikes with setaceous or scalelike involucral bract at base. Spikes 5-7, lower spikes remote, upper spikes approximate; terminal 2 or 3 spikes male, fasciated or narrowly lanceolate, 2-4 cm, subsessile; remaining spikes female, oblong-cylindric or cylindric, 3-5 cm, slightly laxly many flowered, rather lax at base, lowermost peduncle 6-7 cm, erect or slightly pendulous, upper peduncles rather short. Female glumes pale ferruginous laterally, greenish at middle, narrowly ovate or lanceolate, 4-4.5 mm, membranous, 3-veined, margins white hyaline, apex acuminate or slightly acute, shortly aristate. Utricles olivaceous, obliquely patent, longer than glumes, ovate-orbicular, inflated trigonous, 5-7 mm, herbaceous, distinctly several veined, base subrounded, very shortly stipitate, apex gradually narrowed to a slightly broad and ± long beak, beak brownish hispid on margins, strict and rather long 2-toothed at orifice. Nutlets loosely enveloped, obovate, trigonous, ca. 3 mm, base shortly stipitate, apex mucronate; style base not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jun-Aug.

Wet grasslands in forest regions, wet places at lakesides or riversides, in swamps or meadows. Heilongjiang, Jilin, Nei Mongol [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East, E Siberia)].

Lower Taxa

• Carex drymophila var. abbreviata (Kükenthal) Ohwi
• Carex drymophila var. drymophila