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Descriptions

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

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

Pseudosasa japonica

HABIT Perennial. Rhizomes elongated; leptomorph. Culms erect; 300–500 cm long; 10–20 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 15–30 cm long. Lateral branches dendroid. Bud complement 1. Branch complement one; solitary; as thick as stem. Culm-sheaths persistent; pilose; without auricles; glabrous on shoulders. Culm-sheath blade linear, or lanceolate. Leaves cauline; 4–7 per branch. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 8–35 cm long; 10–45 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with distinct cross veins. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle open; obovate; 10–20 cm long.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 2–12 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 15–45 mm long; 3–4 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 4–9 mm long; 0.5–0.8 length of upper glume; chartaceous; without keels; 5 -veined. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 8–12 mm long; 1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; without keels; 7–9 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 8–13 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 17–23 -veined. Lemma apex acuminate; muticous, or mucronate, or awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 0–2 mm long overall. Palea 0.9 length of lemma; 8–10 -veined. Palea keels ciliate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 3; ovate; 3–4 mm long; ciliate. Anthers 3–4; 6 mm long. Stigmas 3. Ovary glabrous.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ovoid; 11 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION Europe: northern and southwestern. Africa: Macaronesia. Asia-temperate: Caucasus, western Asia, China, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: Indo-China. Australasia: New Zealand.

NOTES Arundinarieae. Lin.

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