Gigantochloa verticillata

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 700–1300 cm long; 50–130 mm diam.; woody; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Culm-internodes terete; yellow, or light green; striped; distally pilose (sparsely above). Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths deciduous; auriculate; with 3–4 mm high auricles; with 17 mm wide auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 3–5 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 3–5 mm high; dentate. Culm-sheath blade ovate; spreading, or reflexed. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate; 2 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 25 cm long; 25 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; clustered at the nodes; in stellate clusters; dense; 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 4 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 7.5–10 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating above glumes but not between florets. Rhachilla internodes suppressed between florets.

GLUMES Glumes several; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate. Lower glume apex mucronate. Upper glume ovate. Upper glume mucronate.

FLORETS Fertile florets increasing in size upwards. Fertile lemma ovate; 5–7 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma apex acute; mucronate. Palea 0.9 length of lemma; 4–5 -veined; 2-keeled. Palea keels eciliate. Palea apex acute.

FLOWER Lodicules 3; 0.5–1 mm long. Anthers 6; yellow; anther tip penicillate. Filaments united in a tube.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: China. Asia-tropical: Indo-China and Malesia.

NOTES Bambuseae. Veldkamp 2009.

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