Dinochloa scandens

Synonyms: Bambusa scandens Blume ex Nees, Flora 7 (1), 1824: 291; Nastus tjankorreh Schult. f., Syst. Veg., ed. 15 bis, 7 (2), 1830: 1358, "tiankorreh"; Dinochloa tjankorreh Buse in Miquel, Pl. Jungh., 3, 1854: 388.

Indonesian names: bambu rambat, bambu cangkoreh; awi cangkoreh, cangkoreh, or cangkore (Sundanese).

Distribution: THAILAND: Unlikely to occur in the wild, but may have been introduced and kept in cultivation. — INDONESIA: West Java Province and Banten Province, endemic, in lowland to mountain forests, 20–1,400 m altitude, areas of annual rainfall between 3,000 and 4,000 mm (I. P. G. P. Damayanto & al., 2021 [#1379]).

Descriptions:

(1) "Young shoot purplish with white wax. Culms solid or with small lumen, 8 – 15 mm diam., internodes about 20 cm long, smooth or slightly rough, usually glabrous. Culm leaves with sheaths usually glabrous rarely with pale hairs, 8 – 9 cm long, 3 – 4 cm wide near the base, narrower at the junction with the blade (about 7 mm wide), base pubescent to glabrescent; auricles not present; ligule entire, 1 mm long; blades 5.5 – 7 cm long, 1.5 – 1.7 cm wide near the base, pubescent above near the base, otherwise glabrous, first erect then deflexed. Leaf-blades 7 – 20 cm long, 1.7 – 4 cm wide, glabrous, smooth; sheaths glabrous, smooth; ligule short, entire; auricles small with long bristles of 6 mm long, easily shed. … [flowers and seeds described]." — S. Dransfield, Kew Bull. 51(1), 1996: 103-117 [#1382].

(2) "Climbing or twining with zig-zag culm. Young shoots purplish, glabrous, or occasionally with white wax, blade erects first then deflexed and easily fall. Culms purplish-green when young becoming green with age, solid or with small lumen, 9–20 mm diameters, internodes 17–24 cm long and slightly rough when young becoming glabrous. Branch complements consist of a primary branch and several secondary branches. The primary branch becomes dormant and develops into a full-size culm when the apex of the main culm is broken. Culm-sheaths caducous, usually glabrous or sometimes covered with pale hairs, 8–14 cm long and 4–5 cm wide near the base, narrower at the junction with the blade; the lower part of the culm-sheath (girdle) rough and thick; auricles inconspicuous up to 1 mm high, glabrous or rarely with bristles; ligule entire, 1–1.5 mm long; blades easily fall, erect first then deflexed, 5–8 cm long, wide near the base. Leaf-blades purplish-green when young becoming green with age, 11–19.5 cm × 1.3–4 cm, glabrous; auricles small, less than 1 mm high, with bristles 2–5 mm long; ligule entire up to 1 mm high. … [flowers and seeds known]." — I. P. G. P. Damayanto & al., 2021: 174-189 [#1379].

(3) "… Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms scandent; zigzag; 15–25 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; distally pubescent. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement many; with 1 branch dominant; as thick as stem. Culm-sheaths deciduous but leaving a persistent girdle (girdle rugose); auriculate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; 8 cm long. Leaf-sheaths pubescent. Leaf-sheath oral hairs scanty. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 15–25 cm long; 25–35 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with distinct cross veins. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase, accessed 5 Dec. 2022 [#1335].

Images: Photos by Mastok Setyanto on Facebook, 9 May 2017; I. P. G. P. Damayanto & al., 2021: 174-189, fig. 2-3, 8 [#1379].

Uses: Culms used locally as ropes, for making handicrafts, and for rough baskets.

Comments:

(1) Dinochloa scandens is considered endemic to West Java by E. A. Widjaja, and all other references under this species name from areas outside West Java therefore likely represent distinct Dinochloa species.

(2) Several specimens were previously placed under Dinochloa scandens but (later) identified as different species:
Dinochloa robusta S. Dransfield, Kew Bull. 47(3), 1992: 402 [#1380], from Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia, and Palawan, Philippines; "it differs from D. scandens by its large blades of the culm-sheaths and the hairy base of the culm-sheaths".
A specimen from Borneo, Malaysia, which was used on POWO and GBIF as a reference for determining distribution areas of Dinochloa scandens, represents a new species, Dinochloa darvelana S. Dransfield, Kew Bulletin 44(3), 1989: 435-437 [#1383].
Several other specimens cited as Dinochloa scandens need to be re-identified; cf. I. P. G. P. Damayanto & al., 2021: 182-183 [#1379].

(3) It is apparently challenging to distinguish between Dinochloa malayana and Dinochloa scandens based on vegetative traits. Both species apparently have purplish young shoots, purplish young culm-leaf sheaths, and purplish young culms. The internodes, however, are described as "smooth or slightly rough, usually glabrous" (S. Dransfield, 1996: 104 [#1382]) and "slightly rough when young becoming glabrous" (I. P. G. P. Damayanto & al., 2021: 179 [#1379]) in Dinochloa scandens, whereas in Dinochloa malayana they are described as "very rough or coarse, covered with stiff pale hairs" (S. Dransfield, 1996: 110 [#1382]).

(4) Several photos, asserting to display Dinochloa scandens (from Indonesia), were published by Mastok Setyanto, Bandung, West Java, on Facebook, 9 May 2017 (cited above). The photos show a bluish young shoot, apparently farinose, and pale-hairy, possibly somewhat rough internodes. Based on the photos alone, it is difficult to judge that it is actually Dinochloa scandens.