C. vesicaria L. var. pamirica O. Fedtsch. in Acta Horti Petrop. 21: 432. 1903. C. pamirica (O. Fedtsch.) B. Fedtsch., Fl. Turkest. 2: 70. 1907, preprint from Acta Horti Petrop. 28, 1: 70. 1908, and Acta Horti Petrop. 28, 1: 123. 1908. C. obscuriceps Kük. var. pamirica (O. Fedtsch.) Kük., in Engler, Pflanzenr. IV, 20, 38: 724. 1909. C. pamirensis C.B. Clarke ex B. Fedtsch., l.c.: 191. 1907 pro syn.; descr. in Kew Bull. Misc. Inform., Add. Series 8: 87 (1908); C. dichroa (Freyn) V. Krecz. subsp. pamirensis (C.B. Clarke ex B. Fedtsch.) Egor. in Nov. Syst. Pl. Vasc. 22: 54. 1985.

Loosely tufted perennial, 30-70 cm. Rhizome horizontal, scales grey-brown, strongly nerved. Stem trigonous, soft, smooth or slightly scabrous above. Leaves up to equalling stem length; sheaths 5-14 cm, grey or whitish, sometimes with reddish tint, thick, soft, margin of scarious side almost straight; ligule scarious, to 1 mm; blades 4-5 mm wide, flat or slightly carinate, soft, basal parts conspicuously septate, apex long acuminate, slightly scabrous. Inflorescence of 1-3 male spikes above and 1-3 female spikes below. Bracts sheath-less, mostly overtopping inflorescence. Male spikes (10-)20-50 mm, fusiform, sessile, overlapping; male glumes 4.6-5.3 x 1.3-1.5 mm, lanceolate to oblanceolate, obtuse, margins scarious. Female spikes 20-35 x 8-11 mm, cylindrical or ellipsoid, lower with peduncle up to 10 mm, often slightly drooping; female glumes 3.9-4.5 x 1-1.7 mm, lanceolate, acute, dark brown to dark reddish brown, apex and margins scarious; utricles 4.2-5.6 x 1.7-2.5 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, membranous, mostly clearly nerved, yellowish or brownish, inflated, glossy, beak 0.7-1.1 mm, cylindrical, yellowish or dark brown, truncate, oblique or obscurely bidentate. Stigmas 3. Nut 2-2.2 x 1.3-1.4 mm, obovoid, trigonous, greenish brown, glossy, reticulate with papilla in each areole.

Fl. Per.: June-September.

Type: "Turkestan, Pamir", 14.VIII.1878. A. Kuschakewitsch s.n. (LE!).

Wet mountain meadows, sometimes in water; 2600-4000 m; Distribution.: Central Asia from Tian Shan Mts. to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh.

Name Carex pamirica is validated through short note by B. Fedtschenko (1907), it does not include description, but gives reference to O. & B. Fedtschenko (l.c., 1903), where taxon is validly described at varietal level. See also Egorova, in A. I. Vvedensky (ed.), Consp. Fl. Asiae Mediae 5: 6-98. 1976.