Chusquea

Chusquea
Chusquea quila, inflorescence
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Bambusoideae
Tribe:	Bambuseae
Subtribe:	Chusqueinae
Genus:	Chusquea Kunth
Species
Chusquea abietifolia Chusquea acuminata Chusquea albilanata Chusquea amistadensis Chusquea andina Chusquea anelythra Chusquea anelytroides Chusquea angustifolia Chusquea antioquensis Chusquea aperta Chusquea arachniformis Chusquea aristata Chusquea aspera Chusquea attenuata Chusquea baculifera Chusquea bahiana Chusquea bambusoides Chusquea barbata Chusquea bilimekii Chusquea bradei Chusquea caparaoensis Chusquea capitata Chusquea capituliflora Chusquea ciliata Chusquea circinata Chusquea cordata Chusquea coronalis Chusquea costaricensis Chusquea culeou Chusquea cumingii Chusquea cylindrica Chusquea decolorata Chusquea deficiens Chusquea deflexa Chusquea delicatula Chusquea depauperata Chusquea dombeyana Chusquea elata Chusquea elegans Chusquea erecta Chusquea exasperata Chusquea falcata Chusquea fasciculata Chusquea fendleri Chusquea fernandeziana Chusquea foliosa Chusquea galeottiana Chusquea gigantea Chusquea glauca Chusquea gracilis Chusquea grandiflora Chusquea guirigayensis Chusquea hatschbackii Chusquea heterophylla Chusquea huantensis Chusquea ibiramae Chusquea inamoena Chusquea juergensii Chusquea lanceolata' Chusquea latifolia' Chusquea lehmannii Chusquea leonardiorum Chusquea leptophylla Chusquea liebmannii Chusquea ligulata Chusquea linearis Chusquea londoniae Chusquea longifolia Chusquea longiligulata Chusquea longipendula Chusquea longiprophylla Chusquea longispiculata Chusquea lorentziana Chusquea loxensis Chusquea maclurei Chusquea macrostachya Chusquea maculata Chusquea magnifolia Chusquea meyeriana Chusquea microphylla Chusquea mimosa Chusquea montana Chusquea muelleri Chusquea nana Chusquea nelsonii Chusquea neurophylla Chusquea nudiramea Chusquea nobilis Chusquea nutans Chusquea oligophylla Chusquea oxylepis Chusquea pallida Chusquea paludicola Chusquea patens Chusquea perligulata Chusquea perotensis Chusquea peruviana Chusquea picta Chusquea pinifolia Chusquea pittieri Chusquea pohlii Chusquea polyclados Chusquea pubescens Chusquea pubispicula Chusquea pulchella Chusquea purdieana Chusquea quila Chusquea ramosissima Chusquea renvoizei Chusquea repens Chusquea riosaltensis Chusquea robusta Chusquea scabra Chusquea scandens TYPE Chusquea sclerophylla Chusquea sellowii Chusquea serpens Chusquea serrulata Chusquea simpliciflora Chusquea smithii Chusquea sneidernii Chusquea spadicea Chusquea spathacea Chusquea spectabilis Chusquea spencei Chusquea spicata Chusquea steyermarkii Chusquea straminea Chusquea subtessellata Chusquea subtilis Chusquea subulata Chusquea sulcata Chusquea talamancensis Chusquea tarmensis Chusquea tenella Chusquea tessellata Chusquea tomentosa Chusquea tonduzii Chusquea tovari Chusquea tuberculosa Chusquea uliginosa Chusquea uniflora Chusquea urelytra Chusquea valdiviensis Chusquea virgata Chusquea vulcanalis Chusquea wilkesii Chusquea windischii

Chusquea is a genus of evergreen bamboos with about 150 species. Most of them are native to mountain sites in Central and South America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unlike most other bamboos, the stems of these species are solid, not hollow. Some animals are, to various extents, associated with stands of Chusquea, for example the Inca Wren and the Plushcap.

Notable species

Chusquea culeou, the colihue cane, from southern Chile and adjacent western Argentina, is notable as the most frost-tolerant South American bamboo and the only one that has been grown successfully to any extent in the temperate northern hemisphere, with successful growth as an ornamental plant north to Scotland. The colihue cane was used by the Mapuches Indians to make instruments and as lances during the War of Arauco.

Chusquea quila (in Spanish Quila), in contrast to Colihue, has a spreading or vining growth. It prefers wet places and does not grow above 500 metres (1,600 ft), where C. coleou becomes more dominant. Chusquea quila can form pure stands called Quilantales. Very few plants can grow under this species.

Taxonomy

The genus Chusquea now includes species formerly classified in Dendragrostis, Rettbergia and Swallenochloa. The genus Neurolepis is now included in a subtribe of bamboos, Chusqueinae, along with Chusquea.

See also

• List of Poaceae genera

External links

• Photo of stems
• Interactive Key to the Species of Chusquea subgenus Rettbergia of Brazil
• Genera of Bamboos Native to the New World (Gramineae: Bambusoideae) by F.A. McClure