Guadua Uncinata

HABIT:

• Perennial; caespitose.
• Rhizomes short; pachymorph.
• Culms scandent; 300–800 cm long; 20–60 mm diam.; woody; with root thorns from the nodes.
• Culm-internodes terete; thick-walled, or solid; 20–40 cm long; distally mealy, or pubescent.
• Culm-nodes with distinct supra-nodal ridge; pubescent.
• Lateral branches dendroid; intravaginal.
• Bud complement 1.
• Branch complement two, or three, or several; with 1 branch dominant.
• Culm-sheaths deciduous; 13–28 cm long; 2.8–7.5 length of internode; coriaceous; pubescent; with dark brown hairs; hairy on margins; auriculate; with 4–6 mm high auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with straight hairs, or curved hairs; shoulders with 3–7 mm long hairs.
• Culm-sheath ligule 0.5–1 mm high; ciliate.
• Culm-sheath blade ovate; demarcated but persistent; erect; 1.7–8.5 cm long; 10–60 mm wide; pubescent; mucronate.
• Leaves 7–9 per branch.
• Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface, or pubescent.
• Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; erect, or curly; 6–11 mm long; pale.
• Leaf-sheath auricles falcate.
• Ligule an eciliate membrane, or a ciliolate membrane; 0.2–0.8 mm long; pubescent on abaxial surface; truncate.
• Collar with external ligule.
• Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.3–0.6 cm long; petiole glabrous.
• Leaf-blades lanceolate, or oblong; 6.5–18 cm long; 14–42 mm wide; dark green and light green; discolorous with last colour beneath.
• Leaf-blade venation with 15–20 secondary veins; with distinct cross veins.
• Leaf-blade surface pilose; sparsely hairy; hairy abaxially.
• 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 1–2 basal sterile florets; 3–5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex.
• Spikelets linear, or lanceolate; straight, or curved; subterete; 3–8 mm long; 3–6 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
• Rhachilla internodes 4–9 mm long; pubescent; hairy at tip.

 

GLUMES:

• Glumes several; comprising 1–4 gemmiferous bracts; 0 empty glumes; persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet.
• Upper glume ovate; 3–8 mm long; coriaceous; without keels; 10–15 -veined.
• Upper glume lateral veins with cross-veins.
• Upper glume surface glabrous, or puberulous.
• Upper glume margins eciliate, or ciliolate.
• Upper glume apex acute; mucronate.

 

FLORETS:

• Basal sterile florets similar; barren; with palea.
• Lemma of lower sterile floret ovate; 7–11 mm long; chartaceous; 15–16 -veined; glabrous, or puberulous; smooth on margins; acuminate; mucronate.
• Palea of lower sterile floret 1 mm long.
• Fertile lemma ovate; 10–15 mm long; 6–9 mm wide; coriaceous; without keel; 12–25 -veined.
• Lemma surface glabrous, or puberulous; inner surface pubescent.
• Lemma apex acuminate; mucronate.
• Palea 9–14 mm long; 9–13 -veined; 2-keeled.
• Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged; ciliolate; adorned above; with 0.33 of their length adorned.
• Apical sterile florets 1 in number; rudimentary.

 

FLOWER:

• Lodicules 3; 4–6 mm long; membranous; veined; ciliate.
• Anthers 6; 4–6 mm long; pallid; anther tip apiculate.
• Stigmas 3.
• Ovary pubescent on apex.

 

FRUIT:

• Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

 

DISTRIBUTION:

• South America: western South America.

 

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