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Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Gigantochloa membranoidea

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 800–1000 cm long; 30–50 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 30–40 cm long; mid-green; distally pruinose (when young). Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths deciduous; 17 cm long; glabrous; auriculate; with obtuse auricles; with 5 mm high auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 15–20 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 2 mm high; dentate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; narrower than sheath; erect; 10–14 cm long; 15–20 mm wide. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 7 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate; 0.5 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 15–29 cm long; 25–30 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pubescent; hairy abaxially.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; clustered at the nodes; in globose clusters; dense; with glumaceous subtending bracts; with axillary buds at base of spikelet; prophyllate below lateral spikelets; leafless between clusters.

Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 4 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 10–12 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating above glumes but not between florets. Rhachilla internodes suppressed between florets.

GLUMES Glumes two, or several; 2–3 empty glumes; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate; 11 mm long. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume ovate; 11 mm long. Upper glume apex acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile florets increasing in size upwards. Fertile lemma ovate; 13 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma apex acuminate. Palea 7 mm long; 2-keeled. Palea apex dentate; 2 -fid. Apical sterile florets 1 in number; barren (without palea); lanceolate.

FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 6; 6 mm long; yellow. Filaments united in a tube. Stigmas 1; pubescent.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-tropical: Malesia.

NOTES Bambuseae. Widjaja 2002.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.