Guadua Maculosa

HABIT:

• Perennial; caespitose.
• Rhizomes short; pachymorph.
• Culms erect; 12 mm diam.; woody.
• Culm-internodes terete; thin-walled; distally glabrous.
• Lateral branches dendroid.
• Branch complement several; in a clump.
• Leaves 5–6 per branch.
• Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface.
• Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking.
• Leaf-sheath auricles erect.
• Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.5 mm long; truncate.
• Collar with external ligule.
• Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath.
• Leaf-blades linear, or lanceolate; 3–25 cm long; 1.5–5 mm wide.
• Leaf-blade venation without 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; leafless between clusters.

 

FERTILE SPIKELETS:

• Spikelets comprising 5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex.
• Spikelets linear, or oblong; subterete; 20–30 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
• Rhachilla internodes 6 mm long.

 

GLUMES:

• Glumes two; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet.
• Lower glume ovate; 8–9 mm long; 7–9 -veined.
• Lower glume apex obtuse, or acute.
• Upper glume ovate; 8–9 mm long; 7–9 -veined.
• Upper glume apex acute.

 

FLORETS:

• Fertile lemma ovate; 12 mm long; coriaceous; without keel; 11–13 -veined.
• Lemma lateral veins prominent.
• Lemma surface glabrous.
• Lemma apex acute.
• Palea 1 length of lemma.
• Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged; ciliolate; adorned above.
• Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

 

FLOWER:

• Lodicules 3; obovate; glabrous.
• Anthers 6; 6 mm long.
• Stigmas 3.

 

FRUIT:

• Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

 

DISTRIBUTION:

• Brazil

 

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