白竹 bai zhu

Rhizome neck 4–8 cm. Culms 1–3.5 m, 0.5–1.2 cm in diam.; internodes terete, 20–28 cm, initially white powdery, glabrous; wall 2–3 mm thick; supra-nodal ridges level or weakly prominent; sheath scar weakly prominent. Branches 5–17 per node; buds oblong, margins densely gray ciliolate. Culm sheaths persistent, sometimes purple spotted, triangularly narrowly rounded, proximally leathery, distally papery, glabrous or distally sparsely brown setose, longitudinal ribs prominent, margins initially densely brown ciliate, apex triangular; auricles absent; oral setae absent or few initially; ligule truncate, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; blade reflexed, linear-lanceolate, glabrous, margins usually rolled. Leaves 3–5 per ultimate branch; sheath glabrous; auricles absent; oral setae few, erect, gray-yellow or gray-brown, truncate, 2–3 mm; ligule ca. 1 mm, glabrous; external ligule white-gray puberulous, sparsely white powdery; blade narrowly lanceolate, 5.5–11 × 0.6–1 cm, glabrous, secondary veins 3- or 4-paired, transverse veins obscure, base cuneate, one margin spinescent-serrulate, other margin obscurely so. Inflorescence unknown. New shoots Aug.

* 2000–3000 m. NE Yunnan.