Culm anatomy: A contribution to the identification of vegetative Andean woody bamboos in southernmost America

GUERREIRO, C.; RODRÍGUEZ, M. F.; RÚGOLO DE AGRASAR, Z. E.

KEW BULLETIN

Springer

Año: 2013 vol. 68 p. 209 - 218

0075-5974

Six genera of woody bamboos (Poaceae, Bambusoideae, Bambuseae) occur alongthe Andes, but only two reach the southernmost portion of this mountain range, ChusqueaKunth and Rhipidocladum McClure. In woody bamboos, the identification of new anatomicalcharacters bears a considerable taxonomic significance contributing to the determination ofvegetative material. In the present work, culm anatomy of Andean woody bamboo speciesoccurring in Argentina and neighboring areas is described. Eight species are surveyed: C.culeou E. Desv., C. deficiens Parodi, C. lorentziana Griseb., C. montana Phil., C. quilaKunth, C. valdiviensis Phil., R. neumannii Sulekic, Rúgolo & L. G. Clark and R.racemiflorum (Steud.) McClure. Culm epidermal and cross section characters of each speciesare described and an identification key based on anatomical characters is provided. Culmanatomical characters of C. montana, C. quila and C. valdiviensis are presented for the firsttime. Also, anatomical evidence that support the idea of C. quila and C. valdiviensis asdifferent species is presented and information on useful characters to distinguish betweenthem is provided. The taxa studied are compared in tables based on culm anatomicalcharacters of taxonomic value.