TYPE. Peru. Cajamarca: Las Lagunas, 50 km from Cajamarca on road to Bambamarca. Heavily grazed and burned grass Páramo with crystalline rock outcrops and numerous lagoons of vaRíous size. Growing in very wet area beside lagoon, 4000 m, 29-III-1988, RENVOIZE & LAEGAARD 5031 (holotype: AAU; isotypes: CPUN, K).

DESCRIPTION. Perennial small tussocks, 40-50 cm tall; innovations intravaginal; culms erect, scabrous, with one basal node. Sheaths membranous, brownish-grey, glabrate, margins free; auricles absent; ligule membranous, shortly ciliate, 1.2 –1.5 mm long; leaf blades linear, involute, obtuse, about 20-30 cm long, 0.5-0.7 in diameter, glabrate, green. Panicle contracted, slender, 11-17 cm long, 0.5-0.7 cm wide; branches all surface scabrid. Spikelets 9-10.5 mm long, lanceolate, with 2-3 perfect florets; rachilla glabrate; glumes membranous, dark purple, almost glabrate; lower glume 3.5-4.5 mm long, lanceolate, acute, 1-nerved; upper glume 5-5.5 mm long, oblong-lanceolate, acute, 3-nerved; lemmas 7-7.5 mm long, 5-nerved, membranous, lanceolate, dark purple, roughish in upper part; awn 0.5-1 mm long; callus glabrate; palea membranous, two-carinate, upper third and along keels hairy, markedly two-dentate, 4/5 of lemma lenght; lodicules lanceolate, about 0.8 mm long; stamens 3, anthers 1-1.2 mm long; ovary apex glabrate. Caryopsis not observed.

LEAF SECTION. Leaf section with 5-8 vascular bundles, 5 ribs above; sclerenchyma under abaxial epidermis discontinuous and small, adaxial absent; hairs on adaxial epidermis scattered, about 0.1 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT. The species is known only from northern Peru.

OBSERVATIONS.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Peru. Cajamarca. Parte baja del Cerro Shillas Negras y Laguna Totora, 3920 m, 23-IV-1994, VEGA et al. 7011 (F, CPUN).