和硕薹草 he shuo tai cao

Rhizome woody. Culms 30-60 cm tall, obtusely trigonous, smooth, clothed at base with brown sheaths disintegrating into parallel fibers. Leaves shorter than culm, blades light green, linear, 1-2 mm wide, flattish, margins scabrous, apex long acuminate. Involucral bracts reduced to shortly bladed, sheathing. Spikes 3-7; upper 2-4 male, approximate, clavate, 0.7-1.5 cm; remaining spikes female, rarely with male flowers at apex, 1-1.5 cm, slightly remote, with short peduncles. Female glumes ferruginous, broadly ovate or ovate-oblong, 4-4.5 mm, margins white hyaline, green 3-veined costa forming a mucro, apex acute. Utricles stramineous, longer than glume, elliptic-oblong or obovate-oblong, compressed trigonous, 5.5-7 mm, membranous, hirsute, ferruginous punctate and scabrous margined above, 6- or 7-veined abaxially, nerveless adaxially, base contracted, apex abruptly contracted into a very short beak, orifice obliquely truncate, 2-toothed. Nutlets yellow-brown, elliptic-trigonous, ca. 2.5 mm, base with a stipe ca. 0.7 mm; style scabrous; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Aug.

● Forested slopes; 2000-2800 m. Xinjiang (Hoshud).