刺囊薹草 ci nang tai cao

Rhizome short, rarely obliquely ascending. Culms tufted, 15-80 cm tall, acutely trigonous, smooth below, scabrous above, clothed at base with purple sheaths. Leaves shorter than culm, blades linear, 2-5 mm wide, flat, margins scabrous, apex long acuminate. Basal 1 or 2 involucral bracts longer than inflorescence, sheathless. Spikes 3-6; terminal spike gynaecandrous, oblong, 1-1.5 cm; lateral spikes female, oblong, 8-12 mm, with short peduncles or subsessile. Female glumes dark purple, ovate or broadly ovate, 1.8-2 mm, apex slightly acute or obtuse. Utricles pale green, longer than glume, obovate-elliptic or broadly elliptic, trigonous, 2-2.5 mm, apex abruptly contracted into a very short beak, orifice emarginate. Nutlets castaneous, obovate or obovate-elliptic, 1.5-2 mm; style short; stigmas 3. Fl. and fr. Jun-Aug.

Shady and wet places in alpine coniferous forests, shallow water, meadows; 2700-4100 m. W Sichuan, SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Kashmir, Nepal].

Carex obscura var. obscura occurs in the W Himalayas, Nepal, and Pakistan.