Guadua paniculata

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect (arching); 500–1000 cm long; 10–25 mm diam.; woody; with root thorns from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen, or solid; yellow, or light green, or mid-green. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement two, or three; with 1 branch dominant; thinner than stem. Culm-sheaths deciduous but leaving a persistent girdle. Leaf-sheaths outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 5–7 mm long; dark. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.05–0.1 cm long; petiole pubescent. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 8–14 cm long; 4–10 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; scanty, or clustered at the nodes; in untidy tufts (of 1–3 spikelets); lax; with glumaceous subtending bracts; prophyllate below lateral spikelets; leafy between clusters.

Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 8–12 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 20–35 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes several; 1–2 empty glumes; persistent; shorter than spikelet.

FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 5–7 mm long; coriaceous; without keel; 11 -veined. Lemma apex acute; mucronate. Palea 0.75–0.9 length of lemma. Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged; ciliate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 3; ovate; veined; ciliate. Anthers 6; 4 mm long; yellow. Stigmas 3. Ovary umbonate.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; obovoid; 4–4.5 mm long. Embryo 0.25 length of caryopsis.

DISTRIBUTION North America: Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, northern South America, western South America, Brazil, and southern South America.

NOTES Bambuseae. Fl Costaric 1993.

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