细小香茅 xi xiao xiang mao

Perennial. Culms tufted, wiry, 60–70 cm tall. Leaf sheaths glabrous; leaf blades narrowly linear, pale green, ca. 20 × 0.1–0.2 cm, smooth, glabrous, narrowed toward base; ligule 1.3–2 mm. Spathate panicle moderately dense, up to 30 cm; spatheoles linear, reddish, 1.2–1.5 cm; racemes green, deflexed at maturity, homogamous pair reduced to 1 short narrow spikelet; rachis internodes and pedicels slenderly linear, margins ciliate with ca. 0.7 mm hairs increasing to 2–3 mm at apex, internode apex expanded, cupular, scarious, toothed. Sessile spikelet narrowly oblong, 3.8–4 mm; lower glume herbaceous, shallowly concave below middle, a short tuft of callus hairs in base of concavity, lightly keeled below middle, sharply keeled above, keels scabrid, wingless, 2–4-veined between keels above middle; upper lemma 2-lobed; awn 1.2–1.3 cm. Pedicelledspikelet narrow, 0.5–2.5 mm, reduced to the empty lower glume. Fr. Oct.

* Roadsides in grasslands; ca. 900 m. NE Yunnan.

This species is known only from the type. It shares with Cym-bopogon liangshanensis the unusual character, not otherwise seen in Chinese species, of reduced homogamous and pedicelled spikelets.