眉县薹草 mei xian tai cao

Rhizome ligneous, creeping. Culms erect, stiff, 30-50 cm tall, obtusely trigonous, smooth, dark brown and persistent sheathed at base. Leaves longer than culm, flat, blades 3-4 mm wide, ± rigid, margins involute. Involucral bracts green at lower part and nearly pale at upper part, spathelike, brownish on margins, with short involucral bract blade. Spikes 3-5, remote; terminal spike male, clavate-cylindric, 5-6.5 cm; lateral spikes 2-4, female, linear-cylindric, 3-4 cm, ca. 4 mm thick, densely many flowered; peduncles slender, basal one 7-8 cm, upward gradually shorter, rather long exserted from involucral bract sheath. Female glumes brownish laterally, green at middle, ovate-oblong, 3-3.5 mm, membranous, 3-veined, margins white hyaline, apex acuminate, mucronate. Utricles brownish, slightly shorter than glume, obovate-oblong, 2.5-3 mm, membranous, laxly pubescent, 2-veined laterally and thinly several veined, base attenuate, nearly estipitate, apex abruptly contracted into a short beak, orifice 2-toothed. Nutlets brownish at maturity, elliptic, trigonous, 1.5-1.8 mm, base nearly estipitate, apex shortly beaked; style base slightly thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Apr-Jun.

● Streamsides in valleys; 1000-1400 m. Shaanxi.