Blysmocarex macrantha (Boeck.) Ivanova in Zhurn. Bot. 24: 502. 1939; Kobresia pusilla Ivanova in Bot. Zhurn. 24: 496. 1939.

Perennial, forming small tufts, 20-65 mm. Rhizome, short, with stolons c. 1 mm diam. Stem c. 1 mm diam., terete, smooth. Leaves from 2/3 to longer than stem; sheaths 5-10 m, with brown conspicuous nerves, area between nerves pale, mouth margin of scarious side straight; ligule c. 0.2 mm, hardly arched; blades mostly folded, rigid, slightly falcate, greyish green, margins scabrous towards apex. Inflorescence a spike, 6-10 x c. 3 mm, lowest glume c. 4 mm, nearly clasping, light brown, acute, midnerve green, extending into mucro c. 0.4 mm. Utricle c. 2.5 mm, open to base, scarious, cymbiform, obtuse, light brown to whitish; stigmas 2, rachilla branch up to 0.5 mm, with two scales up to 3 mm.

Type: India, Himachal Pradesh, “Tibetia, prov. Spiti, Schlagintweit 1344” (B?).

Open moist turf at c. 3300 m; Distribution: From Kashmir to Nepal, Myanmar, W. China.

Reported from Kashmir by Kükenthal (l.c.). Stewart (1972: 98) reports K. macrantha from several localities, but the herbarium sheets were found to be misidentified as follows: Stewart 26917, from Gilgit Naltar Lakes, and Stewart 18975, from Astor, both are Blysmus compressus; Stewart 22274, from Baltistan, Marpo La, is Kobresia royleana (Dickoré 1995: 81). N.A.Ivanova (in Bot.Zhurnal SSSR 24: 502. 1939) assigns K. macrantha into new genus Blysmocarex Ivanova, which appears validly created monotypic genus without description, but with direct reference to protologue by Boeckeler. Schlagintweit 2424, from Ladak, Nubra, is erroneously referred to as ”type” by Stewart (1972); Rajbhandari & Ohba (in Ohba & Malla, Himalayan Plants 2: 138, 1991) and Dickoré (1995) refer to a specimen, Schlagintweit s.n. (BM) also from Nubra, as ”isosyntype” and ”?neotype”, respectively. Protologue cites only Schlagintweit 1344 from Spiti.