高节竹 gao jie zhu

Culms ca. 10 m, ca. 7 cm in diam.; internodes initially dark green, becoming yellow-green to gray, equal in length, to 22 cm, not or initially thinly white powdery; wall 5–6 mm thick; nodal ridge strongly raised, more prominent than sheath scar. Culm sheaths pale yellow-brown or tinged with red or green, with variably sized spots, denser near apex, sparsely strigose, margins brown; auricles purple or green, falcate; oral setae long; ligule purple-brown, densely ciliolate, sometimes also with longer cilia; blade reflexed, purple-green or pale green with orange or light yellow margins, linear-lanceolate, strongly crinkled. Leaves 2–4 per ultimate branch; auricles deciduous, green; oral setae well developed, yellow-green; ligule exserted, yellow-green; blade 8.5–18 × 1.3–2.2 cm, abaxially proximally pubescent. Flowering branchlets spicate, 5–6 cm, subtended by 3–5 scaly bracts gradually larger; spathes 4–6, pubescent between veins; auricles small or absent; oral setae several; blade subulate or mucronate. Pseudospikelets 1 or 2 per spathe. Spikelets lanceolate, ca. 2.5 cm; florets usually 2. Glumes absent or 1; rachilla pubescent, terminated by a sterile floret; lemma 1.6–2 cm, distally puberulent; palea subequal to lemma, puberulent on distal portion and keels; lodicules lanceolate or elliptic, 3.5–4 mm. Anthers ca. 1 cm. Stigmas 3. New shoots May, fl. May. 2n = 48*.

* Cultivated. Jiangsu, Zhejiang.

The shoots are delicious, and the culms are used as handles.