Oldeania alpina, the African alpine bamboo,[1] is a perennial[3] bamboo of the family Poaceae and the genus Oldeania.[1] It can be found growing in dense but not large stands[4] on the mountains and volcanoes surrounding the East African Rift[1] between 2,500 meters (8,200 feet)[4] and 3,300 meters (11,000 feet) elevation.[5]
| Oldeania alpina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Bamboo on Mount Kenya | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Oldeania |
| Species: | O. alpina |
| Binomial name | |
| Oldeania alpina (K. Schum.) Stapleton | |
 | |
| Native range of Oldeania alpina | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Arundinaria alpina K. Schum.[1] | |
Description
- Stems and leaves
- 200 – 1,950 centimeters (6 – 64 feet) tall and 5 – 12.5 centimeters (2 – 5 inches) in diameter;[3] these grass stems get used as fencing,[4] plumbing and other building materials.[6] Culm sheaths (tubular coverings) are hairless or with red bristles.[3]
- Leaf sheath is covered with bristles. Leaf blades are "deciduous at the ligule"; blades 5 – 20 centimeters (2 – 8 inches) long.[3]
- Flowers
- Branched cluster of flowers in solitary spikes, which can be dense or loose and are 5–15 centimeters (2–6 inches) long.[3]
- Roots
- Short rhizomes described as pachymorph[3] (a term which is recommended for describing rhizomes which are sympodial or superposed in such a way as to imitate a simple axis, but the word pachymorph would not be used for describing branches or in the case of bamboos, culms).[7]
Distribution
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
