Cleistogenes caespitosa Keng

This is a variant from the Cleistogenes festucacea gene pool with unusually short, obtuse glumes.

Culms densely tufted, base thickened by clustered old leaf sheaths, lacking basal scaly buds, 30–40 cm tall, 0.8–0.9 mm in diam., unbranched. Leaf sheaths longer than the internodes, glabrous but pilose at mouth; leaf blades flat or involute toward apex, stiffly spreading, 3–7.5 × 0.2–0.4 cm; ligule ca. 0.5 mm. Panicle open, lax, 4–6 cm; branches spreading at maturity, simple or lowest with branchlets, lowest branch 1–3 cm. Spikelets 5–12 mm, florets (1–)3–6; glumes ovate-lanceolate, obtuse; lower glume 0.8–2 mm, 0–1-veined; upper glume 1.5–3.5 mm, 1–3-veined; lemmas lanceolate, lowest 4–5.5 mm, pilose near margins; awn 0.4–1 mm; palea keels scabrid. Anthers ca. 3 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul–Oct.

* Dry hill slopes, forest margins. Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi.

Kengia caespitosa (Keng) Packer.