12. Dinochloa andamanica Kurz

General description

Dinochloa andamanica is a vigorous, long, evergreen, clump-forming bamboo with prostrate or scandent zig-zag culms that creep along the ground, rooting at the nodes, or climb over tall trees. Branchlets slender, numerous,in whorls, hanging with dense foliage, nodes swollen. The woody stems are thin-walled, 20 - 30 metres long and 25mm in diameter with internodes 23 - 46cm long. Culm-sheaths green, imperfect blade leafy, deciduous, nearly asbroad as sheath. Leaves 23-30 cm long and 5-7.5 cm broad, ovate-lanceolate, attenuate at the base into a very short petiole, apex setaceous, smooth on both surfaces, scabrous on the edges, midrib prominent, secondary veins 7-9 pairs, withtransverse veinlets. Inflorescence a large compound panicle of spicate thin branches; rachis curved and nodes with a ring formed by the bases of fallen bracts. Spikelets clustered, 2-2.5 mm long, glossy, straw-coloured. Stamens included; filaments short; anthers with an acute tip. Ovary oval, ending in a thick style and bifid non-plumose stigma. Caryopsis not known.

Habit and Habitat

Climber. Mostly occurs as impenetrable tangled thickets and often climbing on the tall trees.

Distribution

Myanmar, Thailand, India – Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Uses

The long-cane like culm of this bamboo is used as rope by the aborigines of the Nicobar.

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