滇西薹草 dian xi tai cao

Rhizome elongate, creeping. Culms loosely tufted, 30-40 cm tall, slender, triquetrous, smooth. Leaves shorter than or subequaling culm, blades ca. 2 mm wide, slightly revolute on lower margins, upward gradually flattened, scabrous on both surfaces and margins; sheaths less than 5 cm, black-brown, membranous part usually splitting to base. Involucral bracts sheathed, lower involucral bract blades linear, upper blades setaceous, sheaths 5-20 mm. Spikes few, remote, distance between 2 spikes up to 8 cm, single in an involucral bract sheath, androgynous, narrowly lanceolate, 1-2 cm, laxly few flowered. Female glumes yellowish brown, broadly ovate, ca. 2 mm, membranous, 1-3-veined, apex obtuse or rounded. Utricles yellow-brown, suberect, longer than glume, elliptic-ovate or ovate, compressed plano-convex, ca. 3 mm, membranous, glabrous, thinly 7-veined abaxially, base abruptly contracted into a short stipe, apex abruptly narrowed to a short beak ca. 1 mm, orifice shortly 2-toothed. Nutlets yellowish, tightly enveloped, elliptic, compressed plano-convex, ca. 1.5 mm; style base slightly thickened; stigmas 2, short. Fl. and fr. Aug-Sep.

● Forests, wet places; ca. 1600 m. Sichuan, Yunnan.