Guadua Calderoniana

HABIT:

• Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely.
• Rhizomes short; pachymorph.
• Culms arching, or leaning; 1000–2000 cm long; 20–35 mm diam.; woody; with root thorns from the nodes.
• Culm-internodes terete; thick-walled, or solid; 30–35 cm long; mid-green.
• Culm-nodes without obvious supra-nodal ridge; pubescent.
• Lateral branches dendroid; intravaginal.
• Bud complement 1.
• Branch complement one to several; with 1 branch dominant; thinner than stem.
• Culm-sheaths deciduous; pubescent; with tawny hairs; auriculate; with 7–9 mm high auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 15 mm long hairs.
• Culm-sheath ligule 1.5–3 mm high; ciliolate.
• Culm-sheath blade lanceolate, or triangular; erect; 20–35 cm long; hispid.
• Leaves 12–15 per branch.
• Leaf-sheaths pubescent; outer margin hairy.
• Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 12–25 mm long.
• Leaf-sheath auricles falcate; 5–10 mm long.
• Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 1 mm long; brown; pubescent on abaxial surface.
• Leaf-blade base truncate, or broadly rounded; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.5–1 cm long; petiole pubescent.
• Leaf-blades lanceolate, or ovate; 15–27 cm long; 20–37 mm wide.
• Leaf-blade venation with 14–18 secondary veins; without cross veins.
• Leaf-blade surface glabrous.
• Leaf-blade margins ciliate.
• Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

 

INFLORESCENCE:

• Synflorescence bractiferous; scanty; lax; with glumaceous subtending bracts; with axillary buds at base of spikelet; prophyllate below lateral spikelets.

 

FERTILE SPIKELETS:

• Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 4–10 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex.
• Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 40–80 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
• Rhachilla internodes obscured by lemmas; pubescent.

 

GLUMES:

• Glumes several; 1–2 empty glumes; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet.
• Upper glume ovate; 3–7 mm long; coriaceous; without keels; 11–17 -veined.
• Upper glume surface pubescent.
• Upper glume margins ciliolate.
• Upper glume apex acute; mucronate.

 

FLORETS:

• Basal sterile florets barren; with palea.
• Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to fertile lemma; lanceolate; 15–18 mm long; 23–27 -veined; pubescent; ciliate on margins; acuminate; mucronate.
• Fertile lemma lanceolate; 17–27 mm long; coriaceous; without keel; 23–27 -veined.
• Lemma surface pubescent.
• Lemma margins ciliate.
• Lemma apex acute; mucronate.
• Palea 15 mm long; 9–11 -veined.
• Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged.
• Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

 

FLOWER:

• Lodicules 3; 2–3 mm long; veined; glabrous.
• Anthers 6; 7–10 mm long.
• Stigmas 3.

 

FRUIT:

• Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; fusiform; 9 mm long.

 

DISTRIBUTION:

• Brazil

 

Sources:
GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
INBAR (International Network for Bamboo and Rattan)