绿头薹草 lü tou tai cao

Rhizome short. Culms densely tufted, 6-30 cm tall, ca. 1 mm thick, triquetrous, densely hispidulous and granular-punctate, brown and persistent sheathed at base. Leaves equaling culm, blades 1.5-3 mm wide, flat, soft, densely hispidulous on both surfaces, margins slightly revolute. Involucral bracts leaflike, shorter than inflorescence, densely hispidulous, sheathed. Spikes 2 or 3, androgynous, oblong, 1-1.5 cm, 3-3.5 mm thick, terminal 2 usually borne in an involucral bract sheath, lateral 1 borne at base of culm, with a filiform and long peduncle; male part of spike shorter than or equaling female part, both slightly densely few flowered; sometimes lateral spike with only 2 or 3 male flowers. Female glumes yellowish green laterally, green at middle, oblong, 3.4-3.6 mm, granular-punctate, 3-veined, margins white hyaline, apex attenuate and mucronate. Utricles greenish, slightly longer than glume, obovate-oblong, obtusely trigonous, ca. 4 mm, thickly papery, granular-punctate and densely hispidulous, 2-veined laterally and thinly several veined, base attenuate into a stipe, margins ciliate, apex abruptly contracted into a short beak, orifice emarginate. Nutlets brown at maturity, obovate-oblong, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, base attenuate, nearly estipitate, apex abruptly contracted into a short beak; style short, base ovoid; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

● Pinus forests, among shrubs on dry mountain slopes; 2200-3000 m. W Yunnan (Dali, Jingdong, Lijiang).