Chimonocalamus makuanensis
Chimonocalamus makuanensis Hsueh & T. P. Yi, Acta Bot. Yunnan. 1 (2), 1979: 80.
Thai name: No known records.
Chinese name: 马关香竹 (mǎ guān xiāng zhú).
Distribution: THAILAND: Introduced, but there is no known record of whether this species has been successfully kept in cultivation in Thailand. — CHINA (South): Southeastern Yunnan, in evergreen broad-leaved forests on mountains at 1,700–1,900 m altitude.
Images: Photos in H. C. Tan, 2012: 49 [#1195].
Chimonocalamus makuanensis: Culm-node — by courtesy of Lihua Jiang, Yunnan Bamboo, China
Culms of Chimonocalamus makuanensis — by courtesy of Lihua Jiang, Yunnan Bamboo, China
Descriptions:
(1) "Habit: Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 500-600 cm long; 15-25 mm diam.; woody; with root thorns from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; 10-27 cm long; light green; distally glabrous. Culm-nodes pubescent. Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths deciduous; coriaceous; yellow and green; striped; hispid; with appressed hairs; with tawny hairs; truncate at apex; without auricles. Culm-sheath ligule 5-7(-12) mm high; fimbriate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; erect; 5-7 cm long; 5-7 mm wide. Leaves 3-4 per branch. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface; outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 4-7 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles absent. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1.5 mm long; pubescent on abaxial surface; obtuse. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 9-11 cm long; 9-13 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex attenuate; filiform. Inflorescences: Flowering specimens unknown." — KewScience POWO, accessed 9 July 2020 [#1305].
(2) "Culms 5–6 m, 1.5–2.5 cm in diam.; internodes pale green, 10–27 cm, initially brown setose, later glabrous; nodes strongly prominent, pubescent; root thorns dense, basally swollen. Culm sheaths deciduous, initially yellow striped, oblong-elliptical, distally broad, longer than internode, leathery, striate, sparsely appressed tawny setose; setae deciduous, ca. 1 mm; apex triangular, 1.1–1.3 cm wide, truncate; auricles absent; ligule truncate or slightly convex, 5–7(–12) mm, apex membranous, fimbriate; blade erect, lanceolate, 5–7 × 0.5–0.7 cm. Leaves 3 or 4 per ultimate branch; sheaths glabrous, margins ciliate; auricles absent or inconspicuous; oral setae several, 4–7 mm; ligule convex, ca. 1.5 mm, pubescent; blade narrowly lanceolate, 9–13 × 0.9–1.3 cm, apex finely pointed, tip to 8 mm. Inflorescence unknown. New shoots Jun–Sep." — Flora of China, accessed 9 July 2020 [#1303].
Images: Line drawing in Flora of China [#1303]. Photos in AsianFlora [#1332].
Comments: No record of a flowering event of this species could be found (9 July 2020).
Specimen: BS-0762 [SSG] (living plants), raised from seeds. The seeds from FMXG, Yunnan, China, as "Chimonocalamus makuanensis, 马关香竹 (mǎ guān xiāng zhú)", collected in late June 2012.
Seed viability: Three months under normal atmospheric conditions; six months under storage at 1–6 °C. — acc. FMXG.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 120–160 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: (1) Seeds laid on moistened tissue paper in June 2012, 27–28 °C day temperature, diffuse light, 22–24 °C night temperature, atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 10 days, germination rate low (<40%), but germinating seeds turned out to be delicate and not all developed into healthy seedlings. — (2) In early July 2012, seeds were set in coir dust at 100%, some laid on the surface, others buried, germination rate low (<40%), but all seedlings looked good. The same result was achieved with seeds sown on 21 August 2012.
Comments:
(1) The species identification is questionable, since no flowers of Chimonocalamus makuanensis are known to date, so the seeds are probably from another species.
(2) The seedlings were distributed in northern Thailand, but the current locations of the cultivated plants are unknown.
BS-0762: Seeds and seedlings