流苏薹草 liu su tai cao

Rhizome woody. Culms lateral, 30-80 × 0.12-0.25 cm, trigonous, densely hairy, rarely glabrous, base with pale brown sheaths. Leaves basal and cauline; basal leaves tufted, usually shorter or rarely longer than culms, elliptic to narrowly lanceolate, 25-40 × 2.8-4.5 cm, glabrous on both surfaces or scabrid or densely hairy abaxially, base attenuate, margins densely ciliate, apex acuminate; petiole 2-20 cm, hairy; cauline leaves spathelike, lower part green and upper part pale brown, margins ciliate. Involucral bracts spathelike. Panicle compound, 2- to several branched; inflorescence branches subcorymbose, single or binate, triangular-ovate, 1.5-2.5 × 2-3 cm; peduncles of inflorescence branches tenuous, 4-8 cm, densely hairy; inflorescence axes densely hairy; bractlets glumelike, oblong, 4-5 mm, membranous, densely hairy abaxially, apex obtuse. Spikes 4-12, bisexual, androgynous, patent, ovate to oblong, 5-10 mm; male part of spike oblong, longer than or equaling female part; female part 4-10-flowered; male glumes oblong-lanceolate, 3-4.5 mm, apex acuminate; female glumes pale green at middle, brownish white laterally with dense brown spots and short lines, ovate-oblong, 2.8-3 mm, papery, apex obtuse. Utricles pale yellowish white, sometimes with dense brown spots and short lines, slightly longer than glumes, obliquely patent, elliptic, trigonous, 3-3.5 mm, with 2 lateral veins abaxially, subsessile, apex contracted into beak of medium length, beak slightly shorter than 1/2 length of utricle, orifice obliquely truncate. Nutlets brown at maturity, elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2 mm; style base thickened; stigmas 3.

● Woods, shady slopes, valleys. Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan.

Lower Taxa

• Carex densifimbriata var. densifimbriata
• Carex densifimbriata var. hirsuta P. C. Li