德钦薹草 de qin tai cao

Rhizome slightly elongate, ligneous. Culms 65-80 cm, slender, obtusely trigonous, smooth, clothed with sheaths at base eventually disintegrating and fiberlike. Leaves 1/4-1/2 height of culms, blades 2-3 mm wide, subrigid, scabrous on both surfaces and margins; sheaths long, brownish yellow, outer sheaths usually later splitting. Lower involucral bracts leaflike, long sheathed, upper involucral bract blades awn-shaped, shortly sheathed. Spikes 4 or 5, uppermost 1 or 2 spikes remote, space up to 20 cm; terminal spike male, clavate, 2-2.5 cm; peduncles slender, most up to 10 cm. Female glumes brown, oblong or narrowly oblong, 3-4 mm, membranous, 1-veined, apex acute, mucronate or aristate. Utricles green-brown, suberect, longer than glume, narrowly oblong, plano-convex, ca. 4.5 mm, membranous, distinctly 2-veined laterally, hispidulous on veins, base attenuate, shortly stipitate, apex gradually narrowed to a long beak, beak scabrous on margins, orifice 2-toothed. Nutlets tightly enveloped, oblong, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, base estipitate; style persistent, base not thickened; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.

● Forests; 2900-3300 m. NW Yunnan (Dêqên).