Rhizome short, cespitose. Stems central, more or less hidden amongst the leaves, erect, triquetrous, scaberulous above, 5-10(-30) cm by 0.25-0.5 mm, surrounded below the leaves by brown, fibrous remains of old leaf-sheaths. Leaves basal, much longer than the stems, plicate to flat, long-attenuate, scabrid on the margins and upper surface, 1-3 mm wide; sheaths pubescent. Spikelets 3-6, upper approximate, lower distant, erect or suberect, cylindric, lax-flowered; terminal spikelet male, 1(-2) cm long, 1 mm thick, lateral ones female or with some male flowers at the top, 0.5-2 cm long, 3-4 mm thick; peduncles smooth or scaberulous, lower exserted. Lower bracts foliaceous, much exceeding the inflorescence, upper much reduced. Glumes elliptic-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acute or with rounded apex, slenderly nerved, with not or scarcely excurrent midnerve and hyaline margins, erose-ciliate towards the apex, 2-3 mm long. Utricles lageniform, trigonous, broadest c. 2 mm from the base, subcoriaceous, straight, suberect, strongly multinerved, more or less puberulous above, stramineous or greenish, shortly stipitate, 5.5-6.5 by 1.25-1.5 mm; beak 0.75-1 mm long, bidenticulate. Nut rhomboid, triquetrous, with faces concave below, stoutly stipitate, the apex subabruptly contracted into a cylindric, truncate neck c. 1 mm long and ¾ mm broad, the whole nut c. 4 mm long. Style-base scarcely thickened, centred in the apical hollow of the nut. Stigmas 3.
More
Plants densely tufted in small clumps. Rhizome short, clothed with hard, dark brown fibers. Culms very low, hidden by leaves, 5-10 cm tall. Leaves narrowly linear, very elongate, 15-28 cm, 2-3 mm wide, gradually tapering to long acute apex. Lower 2 or 3 involucral bracts leaflike, much surpassing inflorescence, up to 20 cm, shortly sheathing. Spikes 3-6, subfastigiate except lowest, erect; terminal spike male, linear, 1-2 cm, shorter than next female spike; lateral spikes female, shortly cylindric, 1-2 cm, sublaxly and contiguously few flowered, peduncle enclosed in sheath. Female glumes stramineous, oblong-elliptic, hard membranous, slenderly many veined besides obsoletely 3-veined costa, ciliolate, apex truncate-rounded, occasionally mucronate. Utricles upright, lageniform with weak constriction at middle, 2 × as long as glume, 5-6.5 mm, thickly membranous, wholly pubescent, slenderly many veined, base stipitate, apex gradually narrowed to erect short beak, orifice shallowly 2-toothed. Nutlets tightly enclosed, ovate-rhomboid, ca. 4 mm, trigonous, base cuneate, apex with neck ca. 1 × 0.7 mm, and truncate at top; style short, base thickened; stigmas 3, short.
Home
