紫鳞薹草 zi lin tai cao

Rhizome short, stoloniferous. Culms tufted, 60-65 cm tall, slightly thick, compressed triquetrous, smooth, clothed with 2 or 3 bladeless sheaths at base. Leaves shorter than culm, blades 4-7 mm wide, flat, with 2 conspicuous lateral veins on upper surface, smooth, scabrous on margins and near apex, sheathed; lowermost sheath up to 8 cm. Involucral bracts leaflike, longer than subtending spike, scabrous near apex and on margins, sheathed. Spikes 11-15; uppermost 2 spikes male; usually 3 spikes borne in an involucral bract sheath (1 spike male and 2 spikes female or bearing a few male flowers at apex); only 1 female spike borne in lowermost involucral bract sheaths; male spikes linear, 3-5.5 cm, slenderly pedunculate; female spikes narrowly cylindric or oblong, 1.2-6 cm, subloosely 10-20-flowered, lowermost peduncle up to 12 cm, upper ones rather short. Female glumes dark brown, yellowish at margin of apex, oblong, ca. 5 mm, membranous, 1-veined, apex obtuse or rounded, muticous. Utricles gray-green, brownish at lower part, suberect, longer than glume, oblanceolate, obtusely trigonous, 7-8 mm, distinctly 2-veined laterally, base attenuate, shortly stipitate, apex gradually narrowed to a long beak, beak 3-3.5 mm, truncate or emarginate at orifice. Nutlets brown, tightly enveloped, elliptic, trigonous, ca. 2 mm, apex mucronate; stigmas 3, slender. Fl. and fr. Jun-Jul.

● Roadsides in ravines; ca. 3200 m. W Yunnan (Bijiang).