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Descriptions

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

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

Schizostachyum blumei

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect, or arching; pendulous at the tip; 300–700 cm long; 10–20 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 30–60 cm long; dark green; smooth, or scaberulous; distally pruinose (below nodes). Lateral branches dendroid. Buds or branches absent from lower quarter of culm. Branch complement many; with subequal branches. Culm-sheaths 15–20 cm long; 4 times as long as wide; green; pubescent; with white hairs; truncate at apex; auriculate; with 4 mm high auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 11 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule dentate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; erect, or reflexed; 13–15 cm long; 7–8 mm wide; pubescent. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 8–13 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate; 1 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; erose. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 19–39 cm long; 35–65 mm wide; dark green. Leaf-blade surface glabrous.

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.

Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear, or lanceolate; laterally compressed; 20–25 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes several; 6–7 empty glumes; persistent; shorter than spikelet.

FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 15–20 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma surface pubescent; hairy above. Lemma margins convolute; covering most of palea. Lemma apex attenuate. Palea tightly convolute around flower; chartaceous; without keels. Palea surface pubescent; hairy above. Palea apex dentate; 2 -fid. Apical sterile florets 1 in number; barren; rudimentary.

FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 6. Stigmas 3. Ovary with a steeple-like appendage.

FRUIT Caryopsis with free brittle pericarp; oblong.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-tropical: Indo-China and Malesia.

NOTES Bambuseae. Bam Sabah 1996.

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