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Descriptions

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

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

Rhipidocladum cordatum

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms 800 cm long; 20 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement many; flabellate. Culm-sheaths 7–10 cm long; glabrous; glabrous on margins. Culm-sheath blade ovate; 8–13 cm long; glabrous on surface. Leaves 3–4 per branch. Leaf-sheaths 6–7.5 cm long; outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 4.5–5 mm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 0.2–0.4 mm long; truncate. Leaf-blade base asymmetrical; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.2–0.3 cm long; petiole pubescent. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 6–7.5 cm long; 7–11 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pubescent; hairy adaxially. Leaf-blade margins smooth. Leaf-blade apex acute.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 1; single; sinuous; bilateral; 4–6 cm long; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 4–6 fertile spikelets on each. Spikelet packing lax. Rhachis internodes 4–9 mm long.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 9–10 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 48–50 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes 4.5–5 mm long.

GLUMES Glumes several; 3–4 empty glumes; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate, or ovate; 3–4 mm long; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface glabrous. Lower glume apex acuminate; mucronate. Upper glume lanceolate, or ovate; 3.5–6 mm long; 3–5 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous. Upper glume mucronate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 7.5–8 mm long; 5–7 -veined. Lemma surface glabrous. Lemma apex acuminate; mucronate. Palea 6.5–7 mm long. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

DISTRIBUTION South America: western South America.

NOTES Bambuseae. Tyrrell & Clark 2014.

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