Grass Genera of the World

L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz


Metasasa W.T. Lin

Habit, vegetative morphology. Perennial; rhizomatous. The flowering culms leafy. Culms 300–700 cm high; woody and persistent; to 3 cm in diameter; cylindrical; branched above. Primary branches/mid-culm node 2. Culm sheaths deciduous in their entirety. Rhizomes leptomorph. Plants unarmed. Leaves not basally aggregated; non-auriculate; without auricular setae. Leaf blades lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate; broad; 25–50 mm wide (and 13–26 cm long); rolled; pseudopetiolate; cross veined; disarticulating from the sheaths; rolled in bud; ligule present; about 3 mm long.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets.

Inflorescence. Inflorescence determinate; without pseudospikelets; few spikeleted (6–8); paniculate; open. Spikelet-bearing axes persistent. Spikelets solitary; not secund; pedicellate.

Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets 30–70 mm long; compressed laterally; disarticulating above the glumes; disarticulating between the florets; with conventional internode spacings. Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret; hairy; the rachilla extension with incomplete florets. Hairy callus absent.

Glumes two; very unequal (judging from the original illustration); shorter than the spikelets; shorter than the adjacent lemmas; awnless; carinate; similar. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets distal to the female-fertile florets. Spikelets without proximal incomplete florets.

Female-fertile florets 7–9. Lemmas not becoming indurated; entire; pointed (acuminate); awnless; hairy; without a germination flap; 13–18 nerved. Palea present; relatively long; entire to apically notched; awnless, without apical setae; several nerved (4–5 nerved between the keels); 2-keeled. Lodicules present; 3; free; membranous; glabrous; not toothed (lanceolate); heavily vascularized. Stamens 6. Anthers 5–5.5 mm long. Ovary without a conspicuous apical appendage. Styles fused (into one). Stigmas 2, or 3 (one of the two stigmas illustrated as being deeply two-lobed).

Fruit, embryo and seedling. Fruit medium sized (about 8mm long). Hilum seemingly long-linear.

Taxonomy. Bambusoideae; Bambusodae; Bambuseae.

Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 1 species; Guangdong, China.

Paleotropical. Indomalesian. Indo-Chinese.

References, etc. Morphological/taxonomic: Lin 1988.

Special comments. 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).

Index