Ochlandra travancorica
Ochlandra travancorica (Bedd.) Benth. ex Gamble, Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 7, 1896: 125.
Synonyms: Beesha travancorica Bedd.; Melocanna travancorica F. Muell., nom. nud.; Ochlandra rheedei var. sivagiriana Gamble; Ochlandra travancorica var. hirsuta Gamble; Ochlandra sivagiriana (Gamble) É. G. Camus; Ochlandra scriptoria var. sivagiriana (Gamble) C. E. C. Fisch.; Ochlandra soderstromiana M. Kumar & Sequiera
Indian name: Kar Ittah (Malayalam?).
English names: Elephant Bamboo, Reed Bamboo, Western Ghats Reed Bamboo.
Distribution: THAILAND: No records are known on whether this species has been successfully introduced and cultivated in Thailand. — INDIA (South): Western Ghats of Kerala, South Karnataka, Tamil Nadu; in moist deciduous forests and semi-evergreen forests, forming pure patches and impenetrable thickets along rivers, abundant, altitude from slightly above sea level to 2,000 m.
Culm size: Height 4–10 m, diameter 4–6 cm.
Descriptions:
(1) M. Kumar, A re-investigation on the taxonomy of the genus Ochlandra Thw. (Poaceae-Bambusoideae), in Rheedea 5 (1), 1995: p. 82, fig. 8.
(2) M. S. M. Kumar, Bamboos of Peninsular India, KFRI Research Report No. 399, 2011: p. 115-121, fig. 40-41 [#1278].
(3) "… caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 200–600 cm long; 25–50 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 45–60 cm long; grey; antrorsely scabrous. Culm-nodes swollen. Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths deciduous; 15–20 cm long; pubescent; with appressed hairs; with tawny hairs, or black hairs; hairy on margins; truncate at apex; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 7.5 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule entire. Culm-sheath blade linear; 4–8 cm long. Leaves cauline. Leaf-sheaths keeled; striately veined; glabrous on surface; outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs scanty; 20–25 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate. Ligule an eciliate membrane; truncate. Leaf-blade base symmetrical, or asymmetrical; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.7–1 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate, or oblong; 9–30 cm long; 50–120 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 24–34 secondary veins; with obscure cross veins. Leaf-blade surface smooth, or scaberulous; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins cartilaginous; scabrous. Leaf-blade apex attenuate. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
Images: Line drawings in M. S. M. Kumar, Bamboos of Peninsular India, KFRI Research Report No. 399, 2011: p. 115-121, fig. 40-41 [#1278]. Photo in A. J. C. Bose, Bamboos (brochure), IBG Howrah, Kolkata, 2013: p. 37, fig. (young plant, young shoot) [#1260].
Uses: Culms for paper pulp, baskets, and mats.
Flowering cycle: 7, 28–30 years [#1320].
Seed weight: ≈45–50 seeds/kg → 1 seed ≈ 20–22 g [#1302].
Seed viability: about 10–30 days under normal tropical atmospheric humidity and temperature [#1302].
Comments: Ochlandra travancorica, a reed-like bamboo with small culms and long internodes (to 1.2 m), is the most common species in the genus Ochlandra. It was recorded to have a flowering cycle of only 7 years.
Specimen: BS-0940 (seeds †), from India, of unrecorded origin, possibly from cultivated flowering plants in Jabalpur (जबलपुर), Madhya Pradesh, received via S. B. and ธ. บ. as "Ochlandra travancorica", 13 Sep. 2019.
Seed weight: 10 dried husk-wrapped seeds weigh 6.2 g; after being soaked in water, the seeds weigh 14.0 g.
Seed germination: 10 seeds placed in three boxes with different media, 15 Sep. 2019, atmospheric humidity >70%, none of the seeds germinated.
Comments:
(1) The seeds received showed the proper shape and size, as expected in this species. However, the seed weight of BS-0940 deviates considerably from the weight given in the literature. This raises the question of whether BS-0940 is actually Ochlandra travancorica or whether the literature reference is incorrect. However, after the dried seeds were soaked in water, they gained significant weight and almost reached the lower weight value for Ochlandra travancorica, so the identification as Ochlandra travancorica may be correct. Obviously, the seeds, after they were received, were in a far too low humidity state for too long, so they lost germinability.
(2) Germination of seeds of Ochloandra travancorica should occur within 1–2 weeks from sowing; there is no seed dormancy.
Ochlandra travancorica (BS-0940): Dried seeds
Ochlandra travancorica (BS-0940): Weight of 10 dried seeds: 6.6 g
Ochlandra travancorica (BS-0940): 4 seeds having soaked in water and placed in one of three germination media