Perennial with thick, woody, shortly horizontally creeping rhizome clothed with the fibrous remains of old leaf-sheaths. Stems closely uniseriate on the rhizome, compressed, conspicuously (often bul-bously) thickened at the base, smooth, 10-40(-70) cm by 1-1½(-3) mm. Leaves about half as long as the stems, rigidulous, flat, abruptly acuminate, scabrid on the margins in the upper part, glabrous or (with their sheaths) pubescent, greyish green, 2-3(-5) mm wide; ligule absent. Inflorescence simple or compound, loose, often diffuse, with (4-)6-12(-35) spikelets. Involucral bracts 3-4, usually shorter than the inflorescence, sometimes slightly longer, erect, up to 6 cm. Primary rays smooth, compressed, with 1-3 spikelets, or again branched, 1-6 cm. Spikelets solitary or partly paired, ellipsoid or subglobose, terete, very obtuse, densely many-flowered, fuscous to castaneous, 5-10 by 3-4 mm; rachilla very narrowly winged. Glumes spiral, membranous, ovate or broadly ovate, obtuse, apiculate, scarcely keeled, with prominent midrib and obscurely many-nerved sides, glabrous, or (in some of the continental Asian specimens) sparsely hairy and ciliolate at the apex, 3-4 by 2-3 mm. Stamens 3; anthers linear, 1½-3 mm. Style flat, dilated at the base, long-ciliate in the upper half, 2-3 mm; stigmas 2, about as long as the style. Nut biconvex, obovate, minutely stipitate, umbonulate, smooth or sparsely verru-culose, finely reticulate by the isodiametric epidermal cells in 20-30 vertical rows on either face, 1⅓-1½ by 1.1-1¼ mm.
More
Perennials. Rhizomes short, thick, woody, diageotropic. Culms sparsely tufted, 15-50 cm tall, flatly cylindric, striate, thicker at base, often covered with old sheaths. Leaves shorter than culm; leaf blade grayish green, 2-3 mm wide, flat, both surfaces sparsely pubescent. Involucral bracts 3-5, leaflike, shorter than or rarely equaling inflorescence. Inflorescence a compound or rarely simple anthela; rays 3-6, longest to 3 cm, unequal. Spikelets solitary, ovoid to ellipsoid, 5-10 × 3-4 mm, many flowered, apex acute to obtuse. Glumes densely arranged, reddish brown, ovate to broadly ovate, ca. 4 mm, adaxially with several veins, apex obtuse and mucronate; basal 2 glumes empty, smaller than fertile glumes and with a slightly longer mucro. Stamens 3; anthers linear, ca. 1.5 mm. Style long and compressed, basally slightly broader, apically ciliate; stigmas 2. Nutlet broadly obovoid to subellipsoid, 1.2-1.5 mm, with fine hexagonal reticulation. Fl. and fr. Apr-Jun.
Home
