尾穗薹草 wei sui tai cao

Rhizome elongating. Culms loosely tufted, 10-30 cm tall, 1-1.5 mm thick, triquetrous, stiff, smooth. Leaves longer than or slightly shorter than culm, blades 3-5 mm wide, flat, stiff, scabrous on both surfaces, dark brown and persistent sheathed. Involucral bracts linear, nearly equaling inflorescence, sheathed. Spikes 1 or 2(or 3), androgynous, oblong, 2-3 cm, ca. 5 mm thick; male part of spike slightly shorter than or equaling female part, both parts densely many flowered; lateral spike borne at middle of culm, with erect long peduncle. Female glumes pale green laterally, green at middle, ovate to broadly ovate, 4-4.5 mm, subleathery, 1-veined, margins white and narrowly membranous, apex acute. Utricles green, ovate, compressed trigonous, 5-5.5 mm, subleathery, loosely pubescent, then glabrescent, 2-veined laterally and thinly several veined, base cuneate, nearly estipitate, apex contracted into a short beak, orifice shortly 2-toothed. Nutlets dark brown at maturity, obovate, compressed trigonous, 3-3.5 mm, base abruptly contracted to a short stipe, apex beakless; style base thickened, trigonous-conic, loosely pubescent; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct.

● Dry grasslands on mountain slopes, Pinus forests, rock crevices on ditch sides, on rocks in mixed forests; 1200-2800 m. C and SE Yunnan (Kunming, Yanshan).