Bambusa rigida

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 500–1000 cm long; 20–50 mm diam.; woody; without nodal roots. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 23–35 cm long; distally pruinose. Lateral branches dendroid; ascending, or spreading. Branch complement several, or many. Culm-sheaths deciduous; 0.5 length of internode; chartaceous; brown; pubescent; with dark brown hairs; truncate at apex, or convex at apex; auriculate; with unequal auricles; with 5–15 mm high auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 10 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 2–4 mm high; dentate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate, or triangular; deciduous; erect, or reflexed; glabrous on surface. Leaves 2–12 per branch. Leaf-sheaths 2.5–7 cm long. Leaf-sheath oral hairs scanty; deciduous; 3–9 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles absent, or erect. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.5–1 mm long; truncate. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.2–0.5 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate, or oblong; 8–24 cm long; 8–27 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 8–18 secondary veins; without cross veins. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or puberulous; hairy abaxially. Leaf-blade margins scaberulous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

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 Spikelets comprising 3–5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 15–40 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes definite; compressed; 2–4 mm long; sparsely hairy; hairy at tip.

GLUMES Glumes several. Upper glume ovate; 6 mm long; without keels, or 1-keeled.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 10–15 mm long; 4–8 mm wide; mid-green and purple; tipped with last colour; keeled. Lemma apex acute. Palea 7 -veined. Palea keels ciliate; adorned above. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 3; 3 mm long; ciliate. Anthers 6; 4–6 mm long; yellow, or purple; anther tip penicillate. Filaments 8 mm long. Stigmas 3. Ovary umbonate; pubescent on apex.

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

NOTES Bambuseae. Keng 1995.

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