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.

Dendrocalamus hamiltonii

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect, or arching; 1200–2000 cm long; 100–185 mm diam.; woody; with root dots on the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 30–50 cm long; dark green, or grey; distally pubescent. Lateral branches dendroid. Buds or branches absent from lower quarter of culm. Culm-sheaths 35–45 cm long; 2 times as long as wide; antrorsely scabrous; glabrous, or hispid; with dark brown hairs; truncate at apex. Culm-sheath ligule entire. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate, or narrowly ovate; narrower than sheath; 15–30 cm long. Leaf-sheaths keeled; hispid; hairs white. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blade base asymmetrical; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 20–37 cm long; 20–40 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 12–34 secondary veins. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; rough abaxially; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; clustered at the nodes; in globose clusters; 1.7–3.2 cm long; dense; 2.5 cm between clusters; 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 2–4 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 10 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes suppressed between florets.

GLUMES Glumes two; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate; chartaceous; without keels. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; chartaceous; without keels. Upper glume apex acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma orbicular; 7–8 mm long; chartaceous; purple; without keel. Lemma margins ciliate. Lemma apex acute. Palea chartaceous; 2-keeled but the uppermost without keels. Palea keels ciliate.

FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 6; purple; anther tip with extended connective. Filaments united in a tube. Stigmas 3; plumose. Ovary umbonate; pubescent on apex.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ovoid; glabrous, or hairy at apex.

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

NOTES Bambuseae. Gamble 1996.

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