森氏薹草 sen shi tai cao

Rhizome short. Culms 70-120 cm tall, acutely trigonous, several nodose, smooth, clothed at base with brown or chestnut-brown sheaths ± disintegrating into fibers. Leaves basal and a few upper spaced on culm, usually shorter than culm, blades broadly linear, 4-9 mm wide, flattish, leathery. Involucral bracts leaflike, lower 2 overtopping inflorescence, remaining bracts much shorter, lower involucral bract sheaths 3-5 cm. Inflorescence paniculate, interrupted, with 3-6 partial panicles, partial panicles binate or ternate, 3-9 cm, some further branched, bearing 3-14 spikes; peduncles exserted; spikes androgynous, oblong or ovate-oblong, 1-2 cm, male part shorter than female part, subdensely flowered, sessile or shortly pedunculate. Female glumes light brown, ovate to ovate-elliptic, 2.8-3 mm, thinly membranous, margins broadly whitish, faintly many veined, green 3-veined costa projecting beyond apex forming a short mucro, apex acute. Utricles pale brownish, longer than glume, suberect, fusiform, lanceolate-elliptic, compressed trigonous, 4.5-6.5 mm, herbaceous, hispidulous on upper 1/2-2/3, finely many veined, attenuate at both ends, beak ca. 1 mm, orifice 2-toothed. Nutlets tightly enveloped, rhomboid-elliptic, trigonous, 3.5-4 mm; style base thickened; stigmas 3.

● Tropical forests; 500-1000 m. Taiwan.

No specimens have been seen by the present authors.