Agrostis sinocontracta S. M. Phillips & S. L. Lu

Agrostis filipes J. D. Hooker, from Kashmir and the Khasi Hills of NE India, also has awns arising from above the middle of the lemma back and a small palea. It differs in having narrower culm leaf blades 1–2.5 mm wide, a densely contracted panicle, and a fine awn 1–2 mm.

Perennial, tufted. Culms erect, 30–50 cm tall, 1–2 mm in diam., 3–4-noded. Leaf sheaths loose, smooth; leaf blades linear, soft, culm blades 10–14 cm × 3–5 mm, blades of tillers ca. 1 mm wide, abaxial surface scabrid or almost smooth, adaxial surface scabrid; ligule 1–2.5 mm, apex truncate. Panicle laxly contracted, lanceolate in outline, 10–15 cm; branches 1–3 at each node or sometimes secondary branching from base, narrowly ascending, 2.5–3.5 cm, almost smooth, a few widely scattered scabridities, bearing spikelets for most of length. Spikelets 2.5–3 mm, green tinged purplish gray; glumes narrowly lanceolate, lower glume slightly longer than upper glume, keel scabrid, apex acuminate; callus hairs 0.1–0.2 mm; lemma ca. 1/2 spikelet length, awned from upper 1/4–1/3, apex emarginate-denticulate; awn recurved in right angle from lower 1/3, slightly twisted below bend, 3–3.3 mm; palea ca. 0.25 mm. Anthers 0.5–0.7 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug–Oct.

NW Yunnan (Bijiang, Gongshan).

* Alpine meadows; ca. 4000 m.

Replaced synonym: Agrostis contracta Y. C. Tong ex Y. C. Yang, Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 4(4): 100. 1984, not Agrostis contracta F. Mueller ex J. D. Hooker, Fl. Tasman. 2: 116. 1858.