Lepidosperma chinense

Lepidosperma chinense, also known as the Chinese scaleseed sedge, is a plant commonly distributed in Hong Kong, and China.

Habit:

Rhizomes creeping. Culms tufted, erect, 45-90 cm tall, terete to obscurely angular, stiff. Leaves basal; sheath purplish black to blood-red, 3-8 cm, margins membranous; ligule present; leaf blade shorter than culm, 2-3 mm thick, terete, stiff, smooth, glabrous. Involucral bracts spathelike, sheathing, glabrous. Inflorescences paniculate, 3-10 cm. Spikelets densely clustered, fusiform-oblong, 6-8 mm, 1- or 2-flowered. Glumes lanceolate, 4-6.5 mm, scabrous, apex obtuse and mucronate; basal 2 glumes empty, apical 2 with bisexual flowers. Perianth scales 6, whitish, very short, connate at base. Stamens 3; connective apex apiculate. Stigmas 3. Nutlet brownish yellow, ovoid to ellipsoid, 2.5-4 mm, terete, smooth, shiny. Flowering. and fruiting. Jul-Dec.
Hillsides, wet places, riversides, sparse forests along valleys; 800-1500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, E Guangxi, Hainan, S Hunan, S Zhejiang Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam.