Ife.
ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDE.'T. CALCDrTA.
2-keeled. Lodicules large, 3 to 5, persistent. Stamens 6, anthers apieulate. Ovary glabrous,
style rigid, long, stigmas 2. Caryopsis glabrous, depressed-globose, supported by the
persistent glumes, palea and lodicules; pericarp crustaceous, separable from tlio seed.
Distrib.—One species.
1. PSEUDOSTACHYUM POLYMOKPnuM, Munro in Trans. Linn. Soc. ssvi. 142, t. 4.
A lai-ge shrub or semi-arborescent bamboo with culms arising singly from a long,
creeping, jointed rhizome. Cxdms tall, branching at the top only, up to 50 f t . in height
and often suppoi-ted by adjoining trees, and so appearing scandent; nodes hardly swollen;
iuteniodes 7 to 12 in., glaucous at first, afterwards green, whitish below the nodos,
sometimes dark red shading into bright green, smooth below, somewhat scabrous
above, 1 in. in diameter, walls very thin, hai-dly '2 in. Cidm-sheathg shorter than the
intemodcs, loose, triangular-truncate in outline, very shortly auricled with a t u f t of stifE
bristles, covered outside with appressed dark brown hairs ; imperfect Made very longacuminate
on young shoots, shorter and triangular on older ones, the base equal to the
horizontally-cut truncate top of the sheath, striate and with tranverse veinlcts; ligule
short, slightly dentate. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, unequal at the base and narrowed into
a rather long, "3 to 'ó in., thick petiole; above ending in a long twisted scabrous point;
4 to 14 in. long, 1 to 2 in. broad; smooth on both sides, scabrous on one edge;
main vein pale, conspicuous; secondary veins 7 to 11, conspicuous; intermediate 5 t o 6 ;
transverse veinlets many, oblique; leaf-sheaths faintly white-pubescent when young,
afterwards glabrous, striate, the mouth ending in a few stiff deciduous ciliaj; ligule short.
Li florescence a large leafy panicle, with many branches from the joints, much divided;
the rachis curved, wiry, angled, spikelets solitary in the axils of narrow bracts. Spikelets
small, -2 in. long, with 1 fertile flower and a terminal produced rachilla bearing glumes,
or an incomplete flower; empty glume 1, broad, mucronato, usually 7-nei'ved; flowering
glume similar to empty glume, finely ciliate above; palea thin, much convolute, 2-keeled,
ciliate on the keels; lodicules 3 to 5, usually 4, large, acute, rounded or truncate at the
apex, ciliate, persistent in the fruit. Stamens free, filaments short, anthers apieulate. Ovary
narrow, linear-oblong, ending in a long rigid style, with 2 short hairy stigmas. Caryopsis
globose-depressed, sui-mounted by the base of the style and supported by the
persistent glumes, palea and lodicules; pericarp crustaceous, separable. (The flower-bearing
inflorescence is more often replaced by a large panicle of diseased flowers, in
which the spikelets are converted into rounded softly h a i r y masses.)
Eastern Himalaya, Assam and Upper Burma; ascending in the hills to 5,000 feet,
but most common in valleys in moist places under the shade of large trees; from the
Darjeeling Terai eastwards through the Garo Hills and along the Assam Valley to
Manipur and on to Bhamo. Collected in Sikkim b y Hooker, Thomson, Kurz, T. Anderson,
G. King, G. A. Gammie and myself; and in Assam by Masters, Jenkins, Brandis, G. Mann
and others; iiL Manipur by C. B. Clarke, and near Bhamo by W. T. McHarg. The
only specimens I have seen with perfect flowers are those of Thomson collected in
1857 and referred to and described by Munro; and of G. A. Gammie, collected in
1891. All the rest consist of the diseased state of the inflorescence (see fig. 3).
This very pretty bamboo is easily recognized by its very thin culms, its triangular
sheaths, and the peculiar and very common diseased inflorescence. It is a valuable kind,
for in Sikkim it is considered the best sort for making the basket-work used by the
INDIAN BAMBüáE.Ei G.1HÜLE. ^7
natives and on the tea estates, as the culms are easily split and the laths are flexible
and durable. Its recent discovery in Burma is due to W. T. McHarg, Deputy Conservator
of Forests, who sent specimens through J . W. Oliver. Mr. McHarg says that
it grows in the hills of the Bhamo district up to 1,000 feet and more, but is also t o be
found on tho banks of the Irrawaddy in the Hakan Forest a f ew miles north of Bhamo.
He further says—" I t is principally used by the Kachin wizards or prophesying priests,
"who roast the stem and then prophesy according to the way the bamboo cracks or
" s p l i t s up. It is a very thin bamboo and splits easily, and tho new shoots, which
" a r e the ones used by the Kachins, grow iip very straight." It is locally known in
Sikkim by the names Filing (Nepalese) and Purphiok or paphok (Lepcha); in Assam as
Wachall (Garo); Bajal, tolli, nál (Assamese); in Burma as Baiva.
P l a t e No. 85.—Pseudostachyum polymorphum, Munro. 1, leaf-branch; 2, part of fertile
flowering branch; 3, branch bearing diseased flowers—of natural size; 4, culm-sheatJi
—much reduced; 5, portion of flower spike; 0, 7 & 8, spikelet showing flowering glume,
palea, stamens and stigmas; 9, ovary with s t y l e ; 10 & 11, tho same with lodicules;
12, young caryopsis ; 13, caryopsis when ripe—enlarged. (All but Nos. 4 and 12 from
Fitch's dramng, Munro 1. c. t. 4.)
10. Teinostachyum, Munro.
Shiiibby or arborescent bamboos. Culms rather thin, rough, straight below, drooping
above. Cuhn-sheailis usually thin, auiicled or not, imperfect blade recurved. Leaves
various in size, like those of Bambiisa, more usually lanceolate-acuminate. Luflorescencc
a spicate panicle, on leaf-bearing branches, tlie spikelets in bracteate verticils. SpiJcelets
long, narrow, many-flowered, with imperfect flowers above and below. Empty glumes
1-2, ovate, mucronato. Flowering glume similar with longer mucros. Palea 2-keeled. cilia
t e on the keels, convolute. Lodicides 3, conspicuous, persistent, 3—9-nei-vcd. Stamens 6,
filaments free, slender; anthers exserted, obtuse, or obtusely apieulate. Ovary depressedglobose
or ovate, the peiigynium produced into a long beak enclosing the style, which
is divided above into 2-3 short or long plumose stigmas. Caryopsis ovoid, acuminatc
beaked, with a crustaceous pericarp.
In the Genera Plantarum the spikelets are described as 1-flowered
Mr. Bontham having clearly detennined to oon.sidcr each flower as a spikelet. Biit
I think that if the spikelet of the best known species—T. Griffdh'd—as depicted in
the excellent Plate No. 3 in Munro's Monograpii is examined, it will be seen to be
t r u ly many-flowered, just like the rather similar spikelets of many species of
Anmdinaria. Kurz considored that Teinostachyum i^hould be joined with Cephalostachijum,
but I prefer to retain tho genera of the authors of the Genera Plantarum.)
Distrib.—Three species from tlie Assam-iJurma region, one from the Western Gháts,
and one from Ceylon.
Analysis of the species.
Culm- and leni-shcaths lorig-auricled.
Spikelets over 1 in. long, lodiculcs glal)rous
Culm- a!id leaf-sheaths not, or haidly, auricled.
Q loose termiiial drooping panicles, lodicuhs skori, ciliate,
A n s . Eoy. P o t . Oaui>. C a l c l t t a , Vol. VIL
1. T. Grijptldi.
2. T. irighUU