喜巴早熟禾 xi ba zao shu he

Poa elanata Keng ex Tzvelev.

Culms tufted, 30–50 cm tall, erect, usually hard, scabrid, nodes 3 or 4, uppermost in lower 1/3; base covered by withered leaf sheaths. Shoots extravaginal. Leaf sheath scabrid, longer than blade; blade usually flat, later folded or inrolled, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, scabrid; ligule (2–)3–4.5(–6.5) mm. Panicle oblong, conferted, 7–15 cm, branches 2–3(–4.5) cm. Spikelets elliptic-lanceolate, green or tinged with purple, 4–6(–6.5) mm, florets 3–5(–7); rachilla glabrous; glumes oblong-lanceolate, apex accuminate, lower glume ca. 3.5 mm, upper glume 4–4.2 mm, margins dry membranous, keel scabrid; lemma oblong-lanceolate, 3.2–3.7(–4) mm; margins white or golden yellow membranous, keel and marginal veins usually shortly villous to glabrous along lower 1/2; callus glabrous. Anthers ca. 2 mm. Fl. Jun–Aug.

Grassy places along forest margins on slopes; 2900–4400 m. Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Xizang [Nepal].

Poa hylobates is allied to P. nemoraliformis and quite frequently forms intermediate populations in Sichuan and Xizang. Quite common are specimens that combine a glabrous callus and rachilla with a ligule longer than ca. 5 mm or 1–3 mm, or a pubescent callus and rachilla with a ligule ca. 5 mm; these features exceed the bounds of known species, including P. hylobates.

The type of Poa elanata looks immature, but taking into account the length and panicle shape of dry culms from the preceding year, which are well represented, it may be attributed to P. hylobates.