''Ferrocalamus'', or iron bamboo, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of Chinese

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

in the grass family.

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to China. The plant is known only from southern

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

, at elevations of 900 to 1,200 m above sea level.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Ferrocalamus'' is related to ''

Indocalamus ''Indocalamus'' is a genus of about 35 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae), native to China, Vietnam and Japan. They are quite small evergreen bamboos normally up to in height, initially forming clumps and then spreading to ...

''. However, ''Ferrocalamus'' is tree-like while ''Indocalamus'' is a shrub.

Description

''Ferrocalamus'' are

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

shrubby bamboos having erect culms. The culms are about 5–9 m long with 20–50 mm diameter. The

internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

are long, thick walled, with a ring of white hairs below the nodes. Culm sheaths are persistent, leathery at base, thinner at apex. The auricles are small or absent. Leaf blade is large with transverse

venation Venation may refer to: * Venation (botany), the arrangement of veins in leaves * Wing venation, the arrangement of veins in insect wings See also * * Vernation Vernation (from ''vernal'' meaning ''spring'', since that is when leaves spring fort ...

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a large panicle on leafy flowering branches. It has 3

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

with free filaments. Ovary is glabrous having short styles short, with 2 stigmas. Fruit is rounded berry-like, succulent with thickened, fleshy pericarp but without hardened endocarp.

Species

* ''

Ferrocalamus fibrillosus ''Ferrocalamus'', or iron bamboo, is a genus of Chinese bamboo in the grass family. endemic to China. The plant is known only from southern Yunnan, at elevations of 900 to 1,200 m above sea level. Taxonomy The genus ''Ferrocalamus'' is rela ...

'' * ''

Ferrocalamus rimosivaginus ''Ferrocalamus'', or iron bamboo, is a genus of Chinese bamboo in the grass family. endemic to China. The plant is known only from southern Yunnan, at elevations of 900 to 1,200 m above sea level. Taxonomy The genus ''Ferrocalamus'' is rela ...

'' * ''

Ferrocalamus strictus ''Ferrocalamus'', or iron bamboo, is a genus of Chinese bamboo in the grass family. endemic to China. The plant is known only from southern Yunnan, at elevations of 900 to 1,200 m above sea level. Taxonomy The genus ''Ferrocalamus'' is rela ...

Uses

In the past, the culms were commonly used for making arrows.

References

External links

Information at The Plant List

Profile at UniProt

Nucleotide database at NCBI
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q11921878 Bambusoideae Endemic flora of Yunnan Bambusoideae genera