Carex blakei

Rhizome often long; shoots ± densely tufted. Culms mostly enclosed in leaf-sheaths, much shorter than inflorescence, erect, trigonous, smooth or scabrous, 2–10 cm long, 1–2 mm diam. Leaves usually shorter than inflorescence, 4–6 mm wide; sheath yellow- to red-brown, occasionally faintly red-dotted; ligule truncate or rounded, occasionally red-dotted. Inflorescence narrow, erect, 8–35 cm long, with 3–6 spikes solitary at nodes, with very long internode between the lowest and next node; involucral bracts of upper nodes exceeding inflorescence but lowest bract shorter than inflorescence. Spikes shortly pedunculate to sessile, the upper ones contiguous, the lower very distant, spreading to erect at maturity, 1–3 cm long; uppermost spike (rarely 2 or 3) male; lower spikes female; glumes obtuse to retuse, erose, shortly mucronate, pale brown tinged red-brown to evenly dark red-brown; female glumes 3–3.5 mm long (including mucro 0.5–1 mm long); utricles 3.3–4.0 mm long, 1.4–2 mm diam., ellipsoid, faintly numerous-nerved, often minutely hispid on shoulders and beak, pale brown, red-dotted; beak 0.5–0.8 mm long, with apex bifid to notched; style 3-fid. Nut obovoid to broad-obovoid, trigonous, dark yellow-brown. Flowers summer.