Corresponding author: De-Zhu Li (
Academic editor: E. Ruiz-Sanchez
Xu Z-C, Liu J-X, Li D-Z (2021)
As a genus of paleotropical woody bamboo,
By studying the species of
All measurements and observation of morphological characters were conducted, based on the specimens at the
After checking the type specimens and protologue of
Morphological differences between
Characters |
|
|
|
---|---|---|---|
Diameter of culm | 5–9 cm | 1–5 cm | 7–12 cm |
Internode | yellow striped | white striped | not striped |
Hairy ring | with a white hairy ring and below the node | without hairy ring | one brown hairy ring below the node |
Culm sheath blade | erect | reflexed | reflexed |
Culm sheath ligule | 4–6 mm, truncate, denticulate | 10–17 mm, convex in the middle, denticulate | 9–14 mm, deep lacerations, bristle |
Pseudospikelet | 12–18 × 2–3 mm, lanceolate, straight | 13–20 × 2–2.5 mm, slender, curved | 11–12 × 3–4 mm, ovate, straight |
China. Yunnan: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Menglun, Mengla,
Sympodial bamboo, loosely tufted. Rhizomes pachymorph. Culms erect, lower nodes with verticillate aerial roots, apically pendulous, 9–14 m tall, 5–9 cm in diameter; internodes terete, greyish-green, yellow striped, 20–40 cm long, wall 7–12 mm thick, culm surface initially densely covered with white to brown hairs when young and glabrous or patchy smudge later; nodes inconspicuous, internode 7–10 mm tall, with a ring of white tomentum at the intranode and below the node. Culm sheaths deciduous, leathery, adaxially glabrous, abaxially sparsely hispidous with brown to black deciduous hairs, strigose, 20–28 cm long, hay colour, with truncate apex; auricles narrowly falcate, 7–10 mm wide, 1–2 mm tall; ligules 4–6 mm tall, denticulate; blades triangular, erect, 4–7 cm long, 1/2 as wide as the apex of culm sheaths. Bud ovate, branching high, from 3–4 m above ground, branches several, one dominant. Foliage leaves 8–12 per ultimate branchlet, usually 10; sheaths initially sparsely white hairy and later glabrous, keeled; auricles inconspicuous; ligules ca. 2 mm tall, entire or split; collar with external ligule; blades lanceolate, 10–28 (-40) cm × 2–4 cm, base cuneate, glabrous, margins serrulate, secondary veins 7–11 pairs, pseudopetioles 2–4 mm long.
Inflorescence iterauctant; flowering branches pendulous, leafless, with clusters of 4–8 (-20) large fertile pseudospikelets mixed with a few small sterile ones at each node, subtended by glumaceous bracts; internodes 2–10 cm long, covered with white deciduous hairs. Pseudospikelets narrowly ovate, light green, 12–18 mm long, 2–3 mm wide; fertile ones sessile, perfect fertile florets 2–4, with diminished florets at the apex; disarticulated above glumes, but not between florets; rhachilla internodes compressed between florets. Glumes 2–3, broadly ovate, persistent, veined, 5–9 mm long, 4–6 mm wide, margins ciliated at upper half. Fertile lemma lanceolate, 14–16 mm long, chartaceous, apex mucronate, glabrous abaxially, margins ciliated; palea oblanceolate, 2-keeled, equal length to lemma, keels and margins long ciliated; lodicules absent; anthers 6, 8–10 mm long, yellow, with a finely-toothed gradual apical tip 0.5–1 mm long, filaments united into a firm tube, 6–10 mm long; stigmas one, purple, plumose, ovary umbonate, pubescent apically. Caryopsis unknown.
New shoots May to August.
The specific epithet refers to the culm sheath covered with sparsely deciduous hairs.
China. Yunnan: Menghai Country, Daluo Town, Manka, 22 October 1978,
China. Yunnan: Menghai Country, Daluo Town, 22 April 2016,
Xishuangbanna is a hotspot of biodiversity in the world and it is also the northern edge of the distribution of
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31670396) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB31000000) to De-Zhu Li. We thank Mr. Yi-Fan Li for the illustration. We thank Ms. Yin Zhao and Mr. Yun-Xue Xiao of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS for the assistance in obtaining the specimens. We thank Dr Maria S. Vorontsova of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Dr Cen Guo of Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS and Dr Yu-Xiao Zhang of Southwest Forestry University for their critical reading of the manuscript.