Glaziophyton Franch.
Habit, vegetative morphology. Sympodial, juncoid perennial; caespitose (the first internode of the primary culm disproportionately elongate, the upper nodes condensed). The flowering culms leafless (but after burning, small secondary culms arise by tillering from the stumps). Culms woody and persistent. Primary branches/mid-culm node 1. Culm internodes hollow (but partitioned by numerous thin septa of pith). Pluricaespitose. Rhizomes pachymorph. Plants unarmed. Leaves auriculate (the auricles weakly developed), or non-auriculate; without auricular setae. Leaf blades lanceolate (acuminate); broad; about 10 mm wide; pseudopetiolate; cross veined; disarticulating from the sheaths; rolled in bud.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence falsely paniculate (to 1 m long, never terminal to a culm); open (effusely branched, the main axis often trigonous); spatheate (with bracts and prophylls); a complex of ‘partial inflorescences’ and intervening foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes persistent. Spikelets not secund; not in distinct ‘long-and-short’ combinations.
Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets to 24 mm long (maximum); compressed laterally to not noticeably compressed; disarticulating above the glumes; disarticulating between the florets; with a distinctly elongated rachilla internode above the glumes. Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret; hairless. Hairy callus absent.
Glumes two; very unequal; shorter than the adjacent lemmas; hairless; glabrous; awnless (somewhat apiculate); non-carinate; similar. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets distal to the female-fertile florets, or both distal and proximal to the female-fertile florets. The distal incomplete florets merely underdeveloped. The proximal incomplete florets 0, or 1; male, or sterile. The proximal lemmas awnless; exceeded by the female-fertile lemmas; similar in texture to the female-fertile lemmas.
Female-fertile florets (1–)2, or 3. Lemmas not becoming indurated; entire; pointed, or blunt; awnless, or mucronate (?); hairless; glabrous; non-carinate. Palea present; relatively long; apically notched; awnless, without apical setae; 2-keeled (dorsally sulcate, the keels ciliate). Lodicules present; 3; free; membranous; glabrous; not toothed; heavily vascularized. Stamens 3. Anthers not penicillate; without an apically prolonged connective. Ovary glabrous; without a conspicuous apical appendage. Styles fused. Stigmas 2.
Special diagnostic feature. Rush-like, with reduced leaf blades (but the juncoid primary culms sprouting typical bamboo twigs from their bases after burning).
Taxonomy. Bambusoideae; Bambusodae; Bambuseae.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 1 species; Brazil.
Neotropical. Amazon and Central Brazilian.
Special comments. Fruit data wanting. Anatomical data wanting.
Cite this publication as: Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M. J. (1992 onwards). ‘Grass Genera of the World: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval; including Synonyms, Morphology, Anatomy, Physiology, Phytochemistry, Cytology, Classification, Pathogens, World and Local Distribution, and References.’ http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/. Version: 18th August 1999. Dallwitz (1980), Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1998), and Watson and Dallwitz (1994), and Watson, Dallwitz, and Johnston (1986) should also be cited (see References).