Guadua Tagoara

HABIT:

• Perennial; caespitose.
• Rhizomes short; pachymorph.
• Culms erect; 800–1200 cm long; 80 mm diam.; woody.
• Culm-internodes terete; thin-walled; 40–45 cm long; distally glabrous.
• Culm-nodes glabrous.
• Lateral branches dendroid.
• Leaf-sheaths keeled; pubescent.
• Ligule an eciliate membrane; truncate.
• Collar with external ligule.
• Leaf-blade base cuneate; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.3 cm long.
• Leaf-blades lanceolate; 10–21 cm long; 10–22 mm wide.
• Leaf-blade venation with distinct cross veins.
• Leaf-blade surface glabrous.
• Leaf-blade margins scabrous.
• Leaf-blade apex attenuate.

 

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; leafless between clusters.

 

FERTILE SPIKELETS:

• Spikelets comprising 3–5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex.
• Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 15–20 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

 

GLUMES:

• Glumes several; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet.
• Upper glume ovate; coriaceous; without keels.
• Upper glume apex acute.

 

FLORETS:

• Fertile lemma 12 mm long; coriaceous; without keel.
• Lemma apex acute.
• Palea 1 length of lemma.
• Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged.
• Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

 

FLOWER:

• Lodicules 3.
• Anthers 6.
• Stigmas 3.
• Ovary umbonate.

 

FRUIT:

• Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

 

DISTRIBUTION:

• Brazil

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