''Ferrocalamus'', or iron bamboo, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of Chinese

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

in the grass family.

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The plant is known only from southern

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

, at elevations of 900 to 1,200 m above sea level.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Ferrocalamus'' is related to '' Indocalamus''. However, ''Ferrocalamus'' is tree-like while ''Indocalamus'' is a shrub.

Description

''Ferrocalamus'' are

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

by bamboos having erect culms. The culms are about 5–9 m long with 20–50 mm diameter. The internodes are long, thick walled, with a ring of white hairs below the nodes. Culm sheaths are persistent, leathery at base, thinner at apex. The auricles are small or absent. Leaf blade is large with transverse venation.

Inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a large panicle on leafy flowering branches. It has 3

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

with free filaments.

Ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

is glabrous having short styles short, with 2 stigmas. Fruit is rounded berry-like,

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

with thickened, fleshy pericarp but without hardened endocarp.

Species

* '' Ferrocalamus fibrillosus'' * '' Ferrocalamus rimosivaginus'' * '' Ferrocalamus strictus''

Uses

In the past, the culms were commonly used for making

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

References

External links

Information at The Plant List

Profile at UniProt

Nucleotide database at NCBI
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q11921878 Endemic flora of Yunnan Bambusoideae genera Flora of the Northern Indochina subtropical forests Bambusoideae