四川早熟禾(原变种) si chuan zao shu he (yuan bian zhong)

Poa gracillima Rendle, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 36: 424. 1904, not Vasey (1893); P. chumbiensis Noltie; P. omeiensis Rendle, nom. illeg. superfl.; P. tibeticola Bor.

Annuals. Culms 10–40 cm tall, nodes 2–4. Leaf sheaths smooth or scabrid, uppermost 2–15 cm; ligule (0.7–)1–4.3(–6) mm. Panicle 3.5–20 cm, longest internodes 1–5 cm. Florets 2 or 3; glumes lanceolate or elliptic to lanceolate; lemmas glabrous throughout; callus glabrous. Fl. and fr. May–Aug.

Mountainous areas, sparse forests, thickets, alpine grassy places; (3000–)4600–4700 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [India (Sikkim), Nepal].

In var. szechuensis the lemmas are completely glabrous. There is a continuum of specimens between Poa chumbiensis, a tall and broad-leaved form, P. tibeticola, an intermediate form, and the type of P. szechuensis, a spindly little plant.