Olmeca recta
Olmeca recta Soderstr., Amer. J. Bot. 68 (10), 1981: 1365; Phytologia 51, 1982: 161.
Mexican local name: Jimba.
Thai name: ไผ่โอลเม็คคะยิมบา (phai onmekka yimba).
Distribution: THAILAND: No records are known on whether this species has been successfully introduced and cultivated in Thailand. — MEXICO: Veracruz, endemic, in the understorey of tropical rainforest.
Culm size: Height 10–15 m, diameter up to 5 cm.
Description: "… culms solitary. Rhizomes elongated; pachymorph. Culms geniculately ascending; 1000–1500 cm long; 45–50 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; distally pubescent. Culm-nodes with distinct supra-nodal ridge. Lateral branches dendroid. Bud complement 1. Branch complement one; solitary. Culm-sheaths persistent; hispid; with dark brown hairs; setose on shoulders. Culm-sheath ligule 4–5 mm high. Culm-sheath blade linear; erect (deciduous); 30–35 cm long; pubescent. Leaves cauline; 8–12 per branch. Leaf-sheaths outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; erect; 30–40 mm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 1–2 mm long. Leaf-blades 20–30 cm long; 10–28 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pilose; sparsely hairy. Leaf-blade margins scaberulous …" — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
Images: Photos in BambooWeb.info [#1340]; photo (habit) by Gib Cooper on Facebook, 26 Feb. 2015; photos (fruits) by E. Ruiz Sánchez on Facebook, 24 May 2015. Video about germinating seeds by Sequendekis on YouTube, 24 May 2016.
References:
(2) BOLD Systems.
Comments:
(1) Unlike the fruits of Melocanna baccifera, fruits of Olmeca recta do not attract rats (E. Ruiz Sánchez on Facebook, 9 Nov. 2015).
(2) The flowering cycle is 30–35 years; the edibility of the fruit is unknown, it tastes bitter (E. Ruiz Sánchez on Facebook, 25 May 2016).
Specimen: BS-0834 [†] (living plants), raised from seeds, 13 July 2015; seeds collected at Inecol Jardín Botánico, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, by R. M. O., mid-June 2015, where this species flowered; received as "Olmeca recta", 13 July 2015.
Seed viability: Unknown, possibly short, humid conditions required.
Seed weight: Not recorded.
Seed germination: All seeds had initiated germination just before the shipment from Mexico to Thailand. Upon arrival on 13 July 2015, 4 seeds had developed 2–5 cm long shoots, and several roots. They were set in a growing medium the next day, where they continued to grow promptly. For further details, see test 150713. Seedlings were planted out in 2016, some died for no apparent reason (perhaps due to too low atmospheric humidity during the dry hot season in Chiang Mai) in 2016 and 2017, and two died from flooding in 2016.
Characteristics: Rhizome pachymorph with a long neck. Culm-nodes with a single branch, the lower culm unbranched up to 3 m. Foliage-leaf blades long and narrow. Seeds fleshy, orbicular, diameter ca. 2.5 cm.
Uses: A collector's bamboo for private and botanical gardens in hot, humid climates.
Cultivation requirements: Fast-growing; in light shade, on moist but not waterlogged soil, requires high atmospheric humidity.
Comments: After the seedlings died, Olmeca recta is no longer present at Bambusetum Baan Sammi. However, some seeds were sent to Singapore, where they arrived healthy. There, it is planned to keep plants raised from seed in culture in the Singapore Botanical Gardens, or they will be lodged as herbarium material at SING.
Olmeca recta (BS-0834): Fleshy seeds in the box on the day of arrival
Germinating fruit (BS-0834c) with a strong shoot and good roots — Olmeca recta
Olmeca recta (BS-0834): One of the germinating seeds, the shoot with a first leaf on the 5th day after the arrival of seeds