Greslania Bal.
Habit, vegetative morphology. Shrubby perennial. Culms 100–300 cm high; woody and persistent; unbranched above (while vegetative). Rhizomes pachymorph. Leaf blades pseudopetiolate.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence determinate; large, falsely paniculate (apical, of aggregated 1-spikelet racemes and their bracts and prophylls); non-digitate; spatheate; a complex of ‘partial inflorescences’ and intervening foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes very much reduced; persistent.
Female-fertile spikelets. Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret; the rachilla extension with incomplete florets.
Glumes two; awnless; similar. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets distal to the female-fertile florets. The distal incomplete florets merely underdeveloped (rudimentary, pistillate).
Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas not becoming indurated; entire; blunt; awnless; ‘lemma nerves obscure’. Palea present; awnless, without apical setae; 2-keeled. Lodicules present; 3. Stamens 6. Ovary glabrous; with a conspicuous apical appendage. The appendage broadly conical, fleshy. Styles fused (short). Stigmas 3.
Fruit, embryo and seedling. Pericarp fleshy; free.
Abaxial leaf blade epidermis. Costal/intercostal zonation conspicuous. Papillae present; intercostal (in the stomatal bands only). Intercostal papillae over-arching the stomata; several per cell (various shapes, cuticularised). Mid-intercostal long-cells having markedly sinuous walls (these pitted, thick). Microhairs present; panicoid-type. Stomata common (obscured by papillae). Intercostal short-cells common; in cork/silica-cell pairs; silicified. Intercostal silica bodies tall-and-narrow. Costal short-cells conspicuously in long rows, or predominantly paired. Costal silica bodies saddle shaped.
Transverse section of leaf blade, physiology. C3; XyMS+. Mesophyll with non-radiate chlorenchyma; with arm cells; with fusoids (large). Leaf blade with distinct, prominent adaxial ribs; with the ribs more or less constant in size. Midrib conspicuous; having complex vascularization. Bulliforms present in discrete, regular adaxial groups; in simple fans (in the furrows). All the vascular bundles accompanied by sclerenchyma. Combined sclerenchyma girders present (with most bundles).
Taxonomy. Bambusoideae; Bambusodae; Bambuseae.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 4 species; New Caledonia.
Paleotropical. Neocaledonian.
References, etc. Leaf anatomical: Metcalfe 1960.
Special comments. Fruit 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).