Rhipidocladum racemiflorum

Rhipidocladum racemiflorum (Steud.) McClure, Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 9, 1973: 106.

    • Synonyms: Arthrostylidium racemiflorum Steud.; Arundinaria racemiflora (Steud.) Hack.; Merostachys racemiflora (Steud.) E. Fourn.

    • Distribution: From MEXICO to southern SOUTH AMERICA.

    • Description: Kew GrassBase [#1335].

    • Photos: BambooWeb.info; BoldSystems.org; DiscoverLife.org.

    • Characteristics: Rhizome pachymorph, short. Culms arching or leaning, 2–15 m long, culm diameter to 1 cm. Branches many. Foliage-leaf blades small and narrow.

    • Flowering cycle: 6–7 years.

    • Comments: Not cultivated at Bambusetum Baan Sammi; the cultivation attempts were unsuccessful.

    • Specimen: BS-0839 [-] (seeds), Mexico, without precise locality. Seeds collected by R. M. O. as "Rhipidocladum racemiflorum", received 11 and 13 July 2015.

    • Seed weight: Not recorded.

    • Seed germination: Seeds seem to be rather small. The flowering material received from Mexico may not have had any seeds or may have had infertile seeds. Three germination tests (test 150712, 150724, and 150814), started in July and August 2015, and in two different growth media, resulted in zero germination by early October 2015.

Rhipidocladum racemiflorum (BS-0839): Spikelets

    • Specimen: BS-0883 [-] (propagules), Mexico, received May 2016, plants did not survive.