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GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
Descriptions
W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson
© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Guadua latifolia
HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; nodding at the tip; 300–1100 cm long; 50–130 mm diam.; woody; with root thorns from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; hollow, or with small lumen; 25–45 cm long; mid-green; smooth. Lateral branches dendroid. Bud complement 1. Branch complement three. Culm-sheaths deciduous. Leaves 5–7 per branch. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface; outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 5–10 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base cuneate, or broadly rounded; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.2–0.8 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate, or ovate; 17–24 cm long; 25–45 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation without cross veins. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or puberulous; hairy abaxially. Leaf-blade margins ciliate. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.
INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; scanty; axis 0–4 cm long; lax; with glumaceous subtending bracts; with axillary buds at base of spikelet; prophyllate below lateral spikelets.
Spikelets appressed, or ascending. Fertile spikelets sessile.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 6–8 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 40–60 mm long; 6–8 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes obscured by lemmas.
FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 12–18 mm long; coriaceous; yellow, or light green; dull; without keel; 18–25 -veined. Lemma lateral veins prominent. Lemma surface glabrous, or puberulous. Lemma apex acute; mucronate, or awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 0.7–2 mm long overall. Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged. Palea apex ciliate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
FLOWER Lodicules 3; veined. Anthers 6; 4 mm long. Stigmas 3.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.
DISTRIBUTION South America: northern South America, western South America, and Brazil.
NOTES Bambuseae. Fl Guiana 1995.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
