Rhipidocladum McClure, 1973

Ruiz-Sanchez, Eduardo, Clark, Lynn G., Londoño, Ximena, Mejía-Saulés, Teresa & Rodríguez, Gilberto Cortés, 2015, Morphological keys to the genera and species of bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) of Mexico, Phytotaxa 236 (1), pp. 1-24 : 19

Rhipidocladum McClure

Rhizomes pachymorph; culms hollow, scandent, arching or clambering above; culm leaf sheaths well developed, without auricles, fimbriae present or absent, oral setae absent; culm leaf blades erect, deciduous; branching intravaginal; node with one primary bud developing several to many (–200) secondary branches in a distinctly fan-shaped, apsidate array; synflorescences racemose; glumes 2, glabrous, acute, mucronate, or awned; 2–12 florets; lemmas mucronate, glabrous; lodicules 3; stamens 3; stigmas 2; fruit a basic caryopsis ( Fig. 3A–F ).

1. Branch complement at mid-culm with 100–200 branches per node ............................................................................... R. martinezii Endemic to Mexico; Chiapas (Volcán Tacaná); 1500–1700 m .

1. Branch complement at mid-culm with fewer than 100 branches per node........................................................................................2

2. Branch complement at mid-culm with 20–40 branches per node; restricted to tropical rain forests................................ R. bartlettii Mexico to Honduras; Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo; 100– 800 m.

2. Branch complement at mid-culm with 45–80 branches per node; inhabiting subdeciduous forests and cloud forests....................3

3. Branch complement at mid-culm with 45–60 branches per node; foliage leaf sheath with summit extensions, fimbriae absent; foliage leaf blades 6–17 mm wide........................................................................................................................................ R. pittieri Mexico to Costa Rica; Chiapas; 700–1500 m.

3. Branch complement at mid-culm with 60–80 branches per node; foliage leaf sheath without summit extensions, fimbriae present; foliage leaf blades (3–) 5–9 mm wide ....................................................................................................................... R. racemiflorum Mexico to Bolivia; Pacific slopes, Tamaulipas, Veracruz; 200–1000 m.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A–B. Rhipidocladum pittieri. A. Mid-culm fan-shaped (apsidate) bud. B. Branch complement. C–D. Rhipidocladum bartletii. A. Clump showing culms. B. Foliage leaves. E–F. Rhipidocladum racemiflorum. E. Foliage leaves. F. Synflorescences and spikelets. Photos by E. Ruiz-Sanchez.