BAMBOOS OF INDI A

Bamboos of India
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G. albociliata - A close-up of clump
2.2 mm broad, fertile flowers mixed with few sterile ones; empty glumes 1-2, ovate, acute, white ciliate, one male flower
followed by 1 or 2 hermaphrodite flowers, flowering glumes elliptic, acute or faintly emarginate, many-nerved, white
ciliate on the edges, convolute; palea short, ovate obtuse, 2-keeled, ciliate on the keels, convolute, ciliate only at the tip.
Stamens long, exserted, filaments at first connected in a short thick tube, afterwards into a long and membranous one;
anthers long, greenish-yellow, long hirsute, apiculate. Ovary narrowly ovoid, much acuminate, pubescent, ending in a
long style divided above into 2 white stigmas. Caryopsis elongate, oblong, cylindrical and acuminate.
FLOWERING
It has been reported to have flowered in Assam during 1956-60 and in 1987 (Gupta, 1987). Gupta also mentioned that
it flowers sporadically almost every year. Seeds from sporadic flowering are not fertile. Clump flowering also has been
reported (Anantachote, 1990). A flowering cycle of about 30 years has been reported from India.
DISTRIBUTION
The species is widely cultivated in West Bengal. It is also introduced in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and
elsewhere in the country.
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