雅江臭草 ya jiang chou cao

Perennial, loosely tufted. Culms 55–75 cm tall, 1–2 mm in diam., 4–5-noded. Lower leaf sheaths pilose, longer than internodes, upper sheaths glabrous, shorter than internodes; leaf blades narrowly linear, up to 27 cm × 2–3 mm, abaxial surface smooth, adaxial surface ribbed, ribs scaberulous; ligule 0.3–0.5 mm. Panicle open, 15–25 cm; branches 2 per node, horizontally spreading, very fine, unbranched, up to 12 cm, bearing relatively few distant spikelets; pedicels setaceous, up to 20 mm. Spikelets 5–8 mm, gray-green, fertile floret 1, 1 smaller sterile floret raised on 2–3 mm densely scabrid internode; glumes subequal, narrowly lanceolate, as long as or longer than florets, hyaline, lower glume 5–7 mm, upper glume 6–8 mm, both acuminate; lemmas lanceolate-oblong, lowest 4–5 mm, herbaceous, granular-scaberulous, 7-veined, upper margins and apex narrowly membranous, apex acute; palea as long as or slightly shorter than lemma, keels scabrid, ciliolate near apex. Anthers 1.8–2 mm. Fl. Aug–Sep.

* Mountain slopes; ca. 2700 m. Sichuan.

This species is apparently known only from the type. The panicle with paired, divaricate branches resembles that of Melica taylorii, but the glistening, long-glumed spikelets on long, very fine pedicels are distinctive.