似舌叶薹草 shi she ye tai cao

Rhizome ligneous. Culms tufted, 35-65 cm tall, triquetrous, clothed with red-brown and bladeless sheaths. Upper leaves longer than culms, blades 5-9 mm wide, flat, scabrous on both surfaces and margins, sheathed, sheaths 2-7 cm, lower ones rather long, upper ones short. Involucral bracts leaflike, longer than inflorescence, sheathed. Spikes 5 or 6, upper spikes slightly approximate, lower spikes slightly remote; terminal spike male, linear, 2-2.5 cm, shortly pedunculate; lateral spikes female, oblong or narrowly cylindric, 1.5-4 cm, laxly 10-30-flowered, rather long pedunculate, greater part of peduncles clothed in involucral bract sheaths. Female glumes stramineous laterally, shortly ferruginous striate, ovate or broadly ovate, ca. 2.5 mm, membranous, green 1-costate, apex acute. Utricles yellowish green, ferruginous punctate, suberect, longer than glume, obovate, trigonous, 3-3.5 mm, membranous, distinctly 2-veined laterally, hispidulous on lateral veins and upper margins, base gradually narrowed, shortly stipitate, apex abruptly contracted into a slightly long beak, orifice shortly 2-toothed. Nutlets yellow-brown, tightly enveloped in utricle, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, sessile, smooth; style short; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. May-Jun.

● Forest margins or thickets at ditch sides or on mountain slopes; 400-800 m. Hunan.