Corispermum orientale Lam.

Records of Corispermum orientale from Europe (except the Lower Volga region of Russia) and North America are based on misidentifications.

Plants 15-30 cm tall. Stem erect, terete, branched from base; lower branches ascending, upper ones obliquely spreading. Leaves linear, 1.5-3 cm × 1.5-3 mm, 1-veined, base attenuate, apex acute, mucronate. Spikelike inflorescence terete or clavate, slightly curved, crowded, 1-4 cm; bracts lanceolate to ovate, 3-5 × 2-3 mm, broader than utricle, 1-3-veined, densely hairy, base rounded, margin broadly membranous, apex acute or acuminate. Perianth segment 1, broadly elliptic, apex irregularly denticulate. Stamen usually 1, exserted from perianth. Utricle sublustrous, subovate, 2.5-3 × 2-2.5 mm, glabrous, base subcordate or rounded, apex rounded; wing yellow-green, broad, 1/4-1/3 as wide as body, margin entire; beak short, thin, apex 1/4-1/3 as long as beak. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Dunes. N Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, W Mongolia, Russia (SE European part, SW Siberia)].