''Apoclada'' is a
genus of
Brazilian
bamboo in the
grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
).
The only known species is ''Apoclada simplex'', found in the forests of southeastern
Brazil (States of
Santa Catarina,
Paraná, and
São Paulo).
[Renvoize, S. A. 1988. Hatschbach's Paraná Grass. 1–76. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]
The genus was for many years thought to contain four species (''Apoclada cannavieira'', ''A. arenicola'', ''A. diversa'' & ''A. simplex'')[McClure, F. 1973. Genera of Bamboos Native to the New World(Gramineae: Bambusoideae). Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 9: 1–148.] Upon further examination and fieldwork at the collection locality, the single piece of material at the US National Herbarium from which ''A. diversa'' had been described, was found to be merely a deformed stem of ''A. simplex''[Guala, G.F. 1992. All About ''Apoclada'' (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) a monograph of the genus. Thesis presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida.][Guala, G.F. 1995 A cladistic analysis and revision of the genus ''Apoclada'' (Poaceae:Bambusoideae). Systematic Botany 20(3): 207–223] Later, with revised concepts of morphological interpretation in the bamboos and strong molecular evidence[Guala, G.F., D. Bogler, J. Sadle and J. Francisco Ortega 2000. Molecular Evidence for polyphyly in the genus ''Apoclada'' (Poaceae: Bambusoideae). Bamboo Science and Culture 14:(1): 15–20.] it became clear that the two species formerly known as ''A. arenicola'', and ''A. cannavieira'' which are endemic to the cerrado of central Brazil are actually unrelated to ''A. simplex'' and are correctly placed in their own genus '' Filgueirasia''.[Guala, G.F. 2003. A new genus of bamboos from the cerrados of Brazil. Bamboo Science and Culture 17(1): 1–3]
The stems of this bamboo grow to more than 13 m tall although half that is more common. Like all bamboos, the upright stems (also called culms) grow from horizontal underground stems called rhizomes. In ''A. simplex'' these rhizomes can be more than 40 cm long, thus although this species is technically a clumping type of bamboo, groves of it often appear much like those of the Asian running bamboos because of the long distance between culms. The culms are light to dark green or sometimes reddish, and about 1.9–4 cm in diameter with internodes every 7–38 cm. The foliage leaf blades are long and thin, 1.3–16.4 cm long and 2–7 mm wide.
;formerly included[
see '' Filgueirasia''
* ''Apoclada arenicola - Filgueirasia arenicola''
* ''Apoclada cannavieira - ]Filgueirasia cannavieira
''Filgueirasia'' is a genus of Brazilian bamboo in the grass family.
Members of the genus were originally published as species of '' Apoclada'' and were classified in that genus for many years.McClure, F. 1973. Genera of Bamboos Native to the ...
''
See also
* List of Poaceae genera
References
External links
Guala, G.F. 2003. A new genus of bamboos from the cerrados of Brazil. Bamboo Science and Culture 17(1): 1-3.Guala, G.F., D. Bogler, J. Sadle and J. Francisco Ortega 2000. Molecular Evidence for polyphyly in the genus Apoclada (Poaceae: Bambusoideae). Bamboo Science and Culture 14:(1): 15-20.A photo of ''Apoclada simplex'' near Cacador, Brazil.A photo of the upper (adaxial) leaf surface of ''Apoclada simplex'' taken with a scanning electron microscope.
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1910666, from2=Q15505088
Bambusoideae
Endemic flora of Brazil
Bambusoideae genera
Monotypic Poaceae genera
Taxa named by Floyd Alonzo McClure