Melocanna

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Melocanna
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Supertribe: Bambusodae
Tribe: Bambuseae
Subtribe: Melocanninae
Genus: Melocanna
Trin.
Species
  • Melocanna arundina
  • Melocanna baccifera - pear bamboo, berry bamboo, muli, muli bamboo, terai bamboo
  • etc.

Melocanna is a genus of tropical clumping bamboo (tribe Bambuseae of the family Poaceae). It comprises 3 species, found in East Asia. The genus is similar to Bambusa. The 48-year cycle of M. baccifera in northeastern India is responsible for the mautam phenomenon of bamboo flowering, followed by a plague of rats and famine.

[edit] Taxonomy

This genus includes Beesha (Kunth). Species that were previously classified within this genus and are now excluded include:

  • Melocanna humilis (Roepert ex Trinius), replaced by Bambusa humilis (Reichenbach ex Steudel)
  • Melocanna virgata (Munro), replaced by Cephalostachyum virgatum (Munro Kurz)
  • Melocanna zollingeri (Steudel) var. longispiculata (Kurz ex Munro), replaced by Schizostachyum blumei (Nees)

[edit] See also

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