S. kali var. praecox Litv. in Sched. Fl. Herb. Ross. 4: 1131. 1902; S. praecox Litv. l.c. 8: 16. 1922; Iljin in Fl. SSSR 6: 216.1936; Grubov, Pl. As. Centr. 2: 86. 1965; Soskov in Ovcz., Fl. Tadzh. SSR 3: 386. 1968; Pratov in Consp. Fl. As. Med. 3: 98. 1972; Li in Fl. Reip. Pop. Sin. 25,2: 82. 1979; Liu in Fl. Desert. Reip. Pop. Sin. 1: 360. 1985; Mao in Fl. Xinjiang 2,1: 103. 1994; Czerepan., Vasc. Pl. Russia States 188. 1995; Rilke in Rech.f., Fl. Iran. 172. 1997; S. elegantissima Iljin in Mat. Komiss. Exped. Issl. Akad. Nauk SSSR. 26: 282. 1930.

Delicate annual, (5)10-30 cm high, erect or suberect, with spreading to ascending branches, terminating in spikes that are interrupted in lower and dense in their upper parts; hispidulous or (rarely) glabrous. Leaves filiform, 15-40 x 0.7-1 mm, semi-terete, spine 1-1.5 mm long. Bracts and bracteoles spreading to recurved; bracts (3)4-7(10) mm long, slightly or up to 2x longer than bracteoles, spine 1-2 mm long; bracteoles (2.5)3-5(7) mm long, exceeding the flower, spine 1.5-2.5 mm long. Tepals narrow-lanceolate from ovate base, 1.9-2.5 mm long, the outer 0.6-1.2 mm wide, 3-veined, the inner 1- or 3-veined, all tepals with a prominent midrib protruding at the apex, transverse line at 1/6-1/4, densely papillose on back and ciliolate at the margins. Anthers 0.4-0.6 mm long, including the minute appendage, divided for 1/2; filaments 1.6-2.2 mm long; disc robust, with semi-circular, papillose lobes. Style 0.3-0.5 mm long, thick, conical; stigmas 1-1.3 mm long, irregularely revolute, inner surface densely covered with long papillae. Fruiting perianth 5-8 mm in diam.; wings unequal, the 3 outer translucent and prominently veined, 1.5-2.5 mm long, the 2 inner reduced to much shorter subulate or linear coriaceous scales, more rarely the 4th narrow spathulate and equalling the outer in length; lobes above the wings indurated, at first incurved, the upper 1-1.5 mm spine-like, strictly erect, parallel, slightly divergent or convergent forming a beak or an open column; tepals below the wings forming a bowl-shaped structure, moderately hardened, at base flattened with 5 shallow grooves. Utricle horizontal.

Fl. Per.: April-May.

Holotype: [Turkmenistan] Turkestania, prov. Transkaspia, in arena mobili pr. Repetek, 23 V 1900 Litwinow, HFR 1131; (LE!), iso- (B!, C!, G!, H! K!, W!).

Obligate psammophyte; rather rare on mobile and semi-stabilized sands from c. 800-1100 m in W and probably also in N Baluchistan. The specimens from Pakistani and Iranian Baluchistan and from S Afghanistan differ from the type and other northern populations by shorter tepals (the spiny tepal lobes in fruit are only 1-1.5 mm long instead of 1.5-2 mm ) and by shorter stigmas. By its elegant habit, S. paulsenii subsp. praecox approaches to S. jacquemontii, but beside other characters that species differs by lack of spiny tepal lobes and in being a high-mountain plant; Distribution: Southeasternmost European Russia, S Kazakhstan, W Xinjiang, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, C and SE Iran, S Afghanistan, Pakistani Baluchistan.

Irano-Turanian.