沙生薹草 sha sheng tai cao

Rhizome creeping, thick. Culms 20-30 cm tall, trigonous, slightly rigid, clothed at base with purple-brown sheaths. Leaves shorter than culm, blades linear, 3-5 mm wide, flat, apex acuminate. Involucral bracts sheathless, lowest one with setaceous blade, remaining ones glumelike. Spikes 3-8, densely disposed in a head, androgynous except 1 or 2 bearing female flowers at base, oblong, 1.3-2.5 cm, subsessile. Female glumes dark purple, narrowly elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 9-10 × 3.5-4 mm, 1-veined, margins broadly white hyaline, apex acuminate. Utricles pale brown, shorter than glume, elliptic or oblong-elliptic, compressed trigonous, (3-)4.5-5 mm, upper densely papillose, without conspicuous veins, contracted at both ends, beak short, orifice 2-toothed. Nutlets light brown, obovate-oblong or elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2.5 mm; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Sep.

Grassy slopes, sandy soil; 4800-5400 m. Xizang, Yunnan [India (Sikkim)].