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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.
Chusquea magnifolia
HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 550–600 cm long. Culm-internodes distally glabrous, or pubescent. Lateral branches lacking, or sparse; arising from lower culm. Leaf-sheaths longer than adjacent culm internode; keeled; ribbed; glabrous on surface, or pubescent. Leaf-sheath oral hairs ciliate; 2–5 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; 10–20 mm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 7 mm long; with a secondary abaxial membrane (2 pubescent processes 30–63 mm long); obtuse. Leaf-blade base with a false petiole. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 100–215 cm long; 100–170 mm wide; coriaceous. Leaf-blade venation with 16–17 secondary veins; with obscure cross veins, or with distinct cross veins. Leaf-blade margins cartilaginous; spinulose. Leaf-blade apex attenuate.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle 200 cm long.
Panicle open; linear, or lanceolate; secund; 100–174 cm long. Primary panicle branches appressed, or ascending; 1 -nate; 15–25 cm long; bearing spikelets almost to the base. Panicle axis pubescent.
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels 1–2 mm long.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 2 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 5–5.5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
GLUMES Glumes persistent; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate; 0.75 mm long; 0.75 length of upper glume; coriaceous; 1-keeled. Lower glume apex obtuse, or acute. Upper glume oblate; 1 mm long; 0.1–0.25 length of adjacent fertile lemma; coriaceous; 1-keeled. Upper glume apex obtuse.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets similar; barren; without significant palea; attached to and deciduous with the fertile. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; 0.33 length of fertile lemma; coriaceous. Lemma of upper sterile floret 1.5 length of lower sterile floret. Fertile lemma ovate; 4.5–5 mm long; coriaceous; shiny; without keel. Lemma apex acuminate. Palea 1 length of lemma; coriaceous; 2 -veined; without keels.
FLOWER Lodicules 3; 0.75 mm long; ciliate. Anthers 3; 3 mm long. Stigmas 2.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.
DISTRIBUTION South America: Mesoamericana, northern South America, and western South America.
NOTES Bambuseae. McClure 1995.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
