356 



GRASSES OF IOWA. 



TRIBE XIII.— BAMBUSEAE. 



Spikelets 2 to many-flowered 

 (rarely only i -flowered), in racemes 

 or pancles; empty glumes at the base 

 of the spikelet two to several ; flower- 

 glumes many-nerved, awnless, or very 

 rarely short-awned ; culms woody, at 

 least near the base, and perennial ; 

 leaf-blade usually with a short petiole, 

 and articulated with the sheath from 

 which it finally separates. 



A comparatively small tribe of 

 23 genera and about 200 species. The 

 species are chiefly confined to the 

 region within the tropics. Many of 

 them are of very great importance to 

 the natives of the countries where 

 they grow. Manufactured articles 

 of bamboo, either of use or for orna- 

 ment, now enter into the commerce of 

 the world. The bamboos are re- 

 markable for their woody stems and often arborescent or tree-like habit 

 of growth, some of the* species attaining the height of 25 to 40 m. In 

 parts of India they form extensive forests. One species in this tribe has 

 leaves 2 to 5 m. long by 10 to( 25 cm. wide; another, a Cuban 

 species, has leaves 7 to 15 cm. long, and as fine as a horse hair. 

 Fleshy and edible apple-like or berry-like fruits are borne by some of the 

 species. In the east the bamboos furnish material for the construction 

 of houses, household furniture, and domestic utensils, asj well as for ar- 

 ticles of ornament, and even clothing. Some supply drink to the thirsty 

 traveler, and the highly farinaceous grain is used by the poorer castes for 

 food. It is recorded that in India the fruit of bamboos have several 

 times been the means of saving hundreds of thousands of people from 

 starvation in times of famine. Many species are now in cultivation and 

 are used for the decoration of parks and lawns. Arundinaria macros- 

 perma, which forms the "canebreaks" of the southern states, is our best 

 known example of this tribe. None of the species are native to Iowa. 



Fig. 253. Parts of a spikelet of 

 A rundinaria. 



