Guadua Weberbaueri

HABIT:

• Perennial; caespitose.
• Rhizomes short; pachymorph.
• Culms erect; 1000–1800 cm long; woody; with root thorns from the nodes.
• Culm-internodes thin-walled.
• Lateral branches dendroid.
• Bud complement 1.
• Branch complement three; thinner than stem.
• Culm-sheaths without auricles.
• Ligule an eciliate membrane.
• Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.5–0.6 cm long.
• Leaf-blades lanceolate, or elliptic; 13–17 cm long; 20–35 mm wide.
• Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

 

INFLORESCENCE:

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

 

FERTILE SPIKELETS:

• Spikelets comprising 3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex.
• Spikelets elliptic; laterally compressed; 17–25 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
• Rhachilla internodes obscured by lemmas.

 

GLUMES:

• Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet.
• Lower glume ovate; 0.25 length of upper glume.
• Lower glume surface pubescent.
• Lower glume apex acute.
• Upper glume ovate; 0.5 length of spikelet; coriaceous; without keels.
• Upper glume surface pubescent.
• Upper glume apex acute.

 

FLORETS:

• Fertile lemma ovate; 13–16 mm long; coriaceous; without keel; 9–13 -veined.
• Lemma surface pubescent.
• Lemma apex acute.
• Palea 1 length of lemma.
• Palea keels winged; conspicuously winged.
• Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

 

FLOWER:

• Lodicules 3; veined.
• Anthers 6.
• Stigmas 3.

 

FRUIT:

• Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

 

DISTRIBUTION:

• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Guyana
• Venezuela

 

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