Otatea

Type: Otatea acuminata (Munro) C. E. Calderón ex Soderstr., 1980

Suprageneric classification: subtribe Guaduinae Soderstr. & R. P. Ellis, 1988; tribe Bambuseae Kunth ex Dumort., 1829; subfamily Bambusoideae Luerss., 1893; family Poaceae Barnhart, 1895 (nom. alt.: Gramineae Juss., 1789); superorder Lilianae Takht., 1967; order Poales Small, 1903. — Soreng & al., 2017 [#1252b].

Main references: E. Ruiz-Sánchez & al., Bot. Sci. 99 (2), 2021: 205, 214 [#1356].

Comments: Otatea is a genus with a distribution range from Mexico to northern South America, comprising 12 species (E. Ruiz Sánchez & V. Sosa, 2009; E. Ruiz Sánchez & al., 2009; E. Ruiz Sánchez & al., 2019). They are recorded from Mexico (with most Otatea populations), Honduras, El Salvador, and northern Colombia, on mountain slopes between 200 and 2,000 m altitude. Some species have been introduced into several countries, mainly the U.S.A. and Australia, where they are grown as garden ornamentals.

Characteristics: Species of Otatea have short or long-necked, pachymorph rhizomes, forming culms of a tight or open clump habit; culms are bending and arching; branches 3 per node, subequal, ascending; foliage leaves usually narrow, much longer than wide.

Uses: Can be used in Thailand as an ornamental garden plant.