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

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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, bu ...

in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

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 elsew ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The plant is known only from southern

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, 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 ...

, 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 wide ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

by 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 forth ...

Inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

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 The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

is glabrous having short styles short, with 2 stigmas. Fruit is rounded berry-like,

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

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

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

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