大舌薹草 da she tai cao

Rhizome slender and elongate. Flowering culms and vegetative culms spaced; sub-basal sheaths of flowering culms with blades; blades of vegetative culms narrowly linear, 20-40 cm × 2.5-4 mm, herbaceous, midvein and sometimes 2 lateral veins prominent, glabrous. Flowering culms 20-30 cm tall, with spikes at nodes above middle; involucral bract sheaths not distinctly inflated above, involucral bract blades equaling or slightly longer than sheath, ligule up to 2 mm, lowest sheath densely puberulent. Spikes androgynous, single or binate at node, linear-cylindric, 1-2 cm; male part of spike usually equaling female part, with denser male flowers and 2 or 3 female flowers; peduncles 1-5 cm, shortly exserted. Female glumes tinged with pale brown, ovate-oblong, ca. 4 mm, hyaline-membranous laterally, rusty punctate, costa green, apex obtuse. Utricles elliptic, 4-5 mm, faintly veined, rusty punctate, apex attenuate into a short beak, orifice subtruncate. Nutlet tightly enveloped, elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2.5 mm; style base not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Apr-May.

● Lax forests, rocky places; 1600-1800 m. Hebei, Shaanxi, Sichuan.