Gigantochloa aya

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 1500 cm long; 80–100 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; 40–45 cm long; mid-green; distally hispid. Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths glabrous; auriculate; with 3 mm high auricles. Culm-sheath ligule 4 mm high; entire. Culm-sheath blade triangular; as wide as sheath at base; erect. Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; 3 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 4 mm long. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades oblong; 21–35 cm long; 32–60 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pilose; sparsely hairy; hairy abaxially.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; clustered at the nodes; in untidy tufts; 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 2–3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 10–18 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating above glumes but not between florets. Rhachilla internodes suppressed between florets.

GLUMES Glumes several; 4 empty glumes; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Upper glume ovate; 3–10 mm long. Upper glume margins ciliolate. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile florets increasing in size upwards. Fertile lemma ovate; 13–15 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma apex acute. Palea 10–13 mm long; 2-keeled. Palea keels ciliolate.

FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 6; 7 mm long; brown, or red; anther tip pubescent. Filaments united in a tube. Ovary pubescent on apex.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-tropical: Malesia.

NOTES Bambuseae. Widjaja 2006.

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