广西薹草 guang xi tai cao

Rhizome woody, with stolons. Culms lateral, 30-50 × ca. 0.15 cm, trigonous, loosely pubescent when young and glabrescent later, with brown sheaths at base. Leaves radical and cauline; radical leaves longer than culms, several ones forming a high shoot, leaf blades linear, flat, 5-7 mm wide, with dense white hairs abaxially, base covered with persistent brown sheaths; cauline leaves brown, spathelike, loosely hairy along veins. Involucral bracts spathelike. Panicle compound; inflorescence branches subcorymbose, single or terminal ones binate, 2-3 × 2-2.5 cm, 3-10-spiked; peduncles of inflorescence branches tenuous, 5-10 cm, loosely pubescent; inflorescence axes sharply trigonous, densely hairy; bractlets glumelike, lanceolate, lowest one 5-10 mm, upper ones gradually shorter, terminal one awnlike, pale brown, loosely pubescent. Spikes bisexual, androgynous, obliquely or horizontally patent, 7-18 mm; male part of spike cylindric, longer than or equaling female part; female part 2-13-flowered; peduncles of spikes arising from flowerless utriculiform cladoprophylls, tenuous, lowest one 2-2.5 mm, upper ones gradually shorter, loosely pubescent; male glumes brown laterally, pale green at middle, lanceolate, 3.5-4 mm, loosely pubescent and glabrescent later, with 1 midrib, margins ciliate, membranous, apex obtuse; female glumes brown laterally, pale green at middle, oblong-lanceolate, 2.2-2.5 mm, membranous, loosely pubescent, with 1 midrib, apex obtuse. Utricles ovate-rhomboid, inflated trigonous, 2.5-3 mm, upper part with brownish red papillae, with many raised veins, hairy, subsessile, apex contracted into an excurved long beak of ca. 1/2 length of utricle, orifice obliquely truncate. Nutlets brown at maturity, ovate-rhomboid, trigonous, ca. 1.8 mm; style base thickened; stigmas 3.

● Among shrubs in shady valleys. Guangxi.