Oxytenanthera

savannah bamboo
Oxytenanthera abyssinica[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Genus: Oxytenanthera
(A.Rich.) Munro
Binomial name
Oxytenanthera abyssinica
(A.Rich.) Munro
Synonyms[2]
  • Houzeaubambus Mattei
  • Bambusa abyssinica A.Rich.
  • Bambusa schimperiana Steud.
  • Oxytenanthera macrothyrsus K.Schum.
  • Oxytenanthera braunii Pilg.
  • Oxytenanthera borzii Mattei
  • Houzeaubambus borzii (Mattei) Mattei

Oxytenanthera is a genus of African bamboo in the grass family[3][4][5]

The only recognized species is Oxytenanthera abyssinica, widespread across much of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Tanzania to Mpumalanga.[2] The genus formerly contained several Asiatic species, but these are now generally considered to be better suited to other genera (primarily Dendrocalamus or Gigantochloa but see also Bambusa Cephalostachyum Pseudoxytenanthera Schizostachyum Yushania);[6] However, molecular studies show species of Oxytenanthera quite distinct from Dendrocalamus spp.

Oxytenanthera is the most common lowland bamboo in eastern and central Africa, also called savannah bamboo.[7] It is common in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania in Iringa, Mbeya and Ruvuma Regions [8] where it is tapped for its juice, and fermented for the production of a local wine.

References

  1. ↑ 1913 illustration from English: Edmond Gustave Camus, Les bambusees, Atlas, vol. 2: plate 90 Source http://plantgenera.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=151808
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. ↑ The Plant List search for Oxytenanthera
  4. ↑ Ohrnberger, D. (1999). The Bamboos of the World. Elsevier Science. p. 596. ISBN 978-0-444-50020-5.
  5. ↑ Munro, William 1868. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 26(1): 126-130 descriptions in Latin, commentary in English
  6. ↑ Das, M., Bhattacharya, S., Singh, P., Filgueiras, T.S. and Pal, A. 2008. Bamboo taxonomy and diversity in the era of molecular markers. Advances in Botanical Research 47:225-268.
  7. ↑ Janzen, D.H. 1976. Why bamboos wait so long to flower. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 7:347-391.
  8. ↑ Mhando Leonardo (n.d.)

External links