Melocanna
| Melocanna | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Bambusoideae |
| Supertribe: | Bambusodae |
| Tribe: | Bambuseae |
| Subtribe: | Melocanninae |
| Genus: | Melocanna Trin. |
| Type species | |
| Melocanna bambusoides (syn of M. baccifera)[1] Trin. | |
Melocanna is a genus of Asian clumping bamboo in the grass family.[2][3]
The 48-year cycle of M. baccifera in northeastern India is responsible for the phenomenon called "mautam" or "bamboo death," in which large populations of bamboo flower at the same time, this being followed by a plague of rats, which in turn triggers a famine within the human populations.
- Melocanna arundina C.E.Parkinson - Thailand, Myanmar; naturalized in parts of southern China
- Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) Kurz - Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Bangladesh, Myanmar; sparingly naturalized in parts of West Indies and South America
- formerly included[1]
see Bambusa Cephalostachyum Gigantochloa Nastus Ochlandra Schizostachyum
- Melocanna clarkei - Cephalostachyum mannii
- Melocanna elegantissima - Nastus elegantissimus
- Melocanna excelsa - Gigantochloa verticillata
- Melocanna gracilis - Schizostachyum gracile
- Melocanna kurzii - Bambusa schizostachyoides
- Melocanna rheedei - Ochlandra scriptoria
- Melocanna virgata - Cephalostachyum virgatum
- Melocanna zollingeri - Schizostachyum zollingeri