Gigantochloa wrayi

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 20–70 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; distally glabrous. Lateral branches dendroid. Buds or branches absent from lower quarter of culm. Culm-sheaths 15–27 cm long; hispid; with dark brown hairs; truncate at apex; auriculate; glabrous on shoulders, or ciliate on shoulders. Culm-sheath ligule 6–10 mm high; fimbriate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; narrower than sheath; reflexed; 12–22 cm long; 35–40 mm wide; pubescent. Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking, or ciliate. Ligule an eciliate membrane; erose. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.4–0.8 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 9–40 cm long; 12–60 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface puberulous; hairy abaxially.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; clustered at the nodes; in stellate 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 3–4 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 20 mm long; 5 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating above glumes but not between florets. Rhachilla internodes suppressed between florets.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate; 5 mm long. Upper glume ovate; 7 mm long.

FLORETS Fertile florets increasing in size upwards. Fertile lemma ovate; 15–17 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma surface puberulous. Lemma margins ciliate. Lemma hairs dark brown; 1 mm long. Lemma apex acute. Palea 2-keeled. Palea keels ciliate. Apical sterile florets 1 in number; barren; lanceolate.

FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 6; 8 mm long. Filaments united in a tube. Stigmas 1; pubescent. Ovary umbonate; pubescent on apex.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; 10 mm long; hairy at apex.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-tropical: Malesia.

NOTES Bambuseae. Holttum 1995.

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