Guadua Ciliata

HABIT:

• Perennial; caespitose.
• Rhizomes short; pachymorph.
• Culms scandent; 400–1000 cm long; 8–20 mm diam.; woody; without nodal roots.
• Culm-internodes terete; thin-walled; 20–30 cm long; yellow, or mid-green; distally glabrous, or pubescent.
• Culm-nodes pubescent.
• Lateral branches dendroid; intravaginal.
• Bud complement 1.
• Branch complement one to three; with 1 branch dominant; thinner than stem.
• Culm-sheaths persistent; hairy on margins; without auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 5–8 mm long hairs.
• Culm-sheath ligule 0.4–2.2 mm high; ciliolate.
• Culm-sheath blade triangular; erect; 1–2.4 cm long; pubescent and with ciliate margins; mucronate.
• Leaves 7–11 per branch.
• Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface; outer margin hairy.
• Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; deciduous; 2–11 mm long.
• Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1–2.2 mm long; truncate, or obtuse.
• Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.5–1.4 cm long; petiole pubescent.
• Leaf-blades lanceolate; 12–25 cm long; 20–35 mm wide.
• Leaf-blade midrib conspicuous.
• Leaf-blade venation with 15–23 secondary veins; with distinct cross veins.
• Leaf-blade surface glabrous.
• Leaf-blade margins scabrous.
• Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

 

INFLORESCENCE:

• Synflorescence bractiferous; clustered at the nodes; in untidy tufts; lax; with glumaceous subtending bracts; with axillary buds at base of spikelet; prophyllate below lateral spikelets; leafy between clusters.

 

FERTILE SPIKELETS:

• Spikelets comprising 5–9 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex.
• Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 50–70 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
• Rhachilla internodes 3–9.5 mm long; obscured by lemmas; pubescent.

 

GLUMES:

• Glumes several; 1–3 empty glumes; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet.
• Upper glume ovate; 6–16 mm long; coriaceous; without keels; 13–19 -veined.
• Upper glume lateral veins with cross-veins.
• Upper glume surface glabrous, or pubescent.
• Upper glume margins ciliolate.
• Upper glume apex acute; mucronate.

 

FLORETS:

• Fertile lemma ovate; 14–23 mm long; 7–9 mm wide; coriaceous; without keel; 23–27 -veined.
• Lemma lateral veins with cross-veins.
• Lemma surface glabrous, or puberulous.
• Lemma margins ciliolate.
• Lemma apex acute; mucronate.
• Palea 8–17 mm long; 8–9 -veined.
• Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged; pubescent.
• Palea apex pubescent.
• Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

 

FLOWER:

• Lodicules 3; 5.1–7.2 mm long; veined; ciliate.
• Anthers 6; 5.5–7.5 mm long.
• Stigmas 3.

 

FRUIT:

• Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; oblong; 8.5–10 mm long; dark brown.
• Embryo 0.2 length of caryopsis.
• Hilum linear; 1 length of caryopsis.

 

DISTRIBUTION:

• Brazil
• Venezuela

 

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