Poaceae
Chusquea

Chusquea coronalis Soderstr. & C.E.Calderón

First published in Brittonia 30: 158 (1978)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Mexico (Chiapas) to Central America. It is a bamboo and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms scandent; 300-500 cm long; 10 mm diam.; woody; without nodal roots. Culm-internodes terete; solid; smooth. Culm-nodes bearded. Lateral branches dendroid; extravaginal. Branch complement many; girdling the culm; with 1 branch dominant; thinner than stem. Culm-sheaths without auricles. Leaves 1-2 per branch. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades deciduous at the ligule; lanceolate; 1-2.5 cm long; 2-4 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle; comprising 2-10 fertile spikelets. Panicle open; linear; 2-4 cm long; bearing few spikelets. Primary panicle branches indistinct the panicle almost racemose. Spikelets appressed; solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels 4-7 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 2 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; laterally compressed; 5-5.5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 2 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; laterally compressed; 5-5.5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.2-0.3 mm long; 1 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 0.2-0.3 mm long; 0.05 length of adjacent fertile lemma; without keels; 0 -veined. Upper glume primary vein absent. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Basal sterile florets similar; barren; without significant palea; attached to and deciduous with the fertile. Lemma of lower sterile floret ovate; 2.3-3.7 mm long; chartaceous; 1 -veined; without lateral veins; ciliolate on margins; obtuse. Lemma of upper sterile floret ovate; 2.7-3 mm long; chartaceous; obtuse. Fertile lemma ovate; 5-5.1 mm long; coriaceous; without keel; 8-9 -veined. Lemma lateral veins ribbed. Lemma margins ciliolate; hairy above. Lemma apex acute. Palea 5 mm long; 4 -veined. Palea keels approximate. Palea surface pubescent; hairy on flanks. Palea apex dentate; 2 -fid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 3; membranous; veined; ciliate. Anthers 3; 3.2-3.5 mm long; yellow. Stigmas 2.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; apex unappendaged.
Distribution
North America: Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana.
Reference
Bambuseae. Fl Costaric 1994.
Diagnostic
Hair tuft under leaf base on 1 side of midrib.
[GB]

Sources

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0