Abstract
Members of the genus Ochlandra, referred to as reed bamboo, are thin-walled and thickly clumped endemic bamboo of the South Western Ghats of India (10 species) and Sri Lanka (1 species). Among the different species occurring under the genus Ochlandra in India, O. travancorica and O. scriptoria are found to grow in abundance. Ochlandra scriptoria (Dennst.) CEC Fisher is an endemic reed bamboo of Western Ghats (Koshy and Harikumar 2001) and found along the stream banks in the lower elevations. This is a small and thin reed widely distributed in the Southern Kerala and in smaller portions in the northern part (Basha 1991). All the species have relatively large fruits with thick pericarp, such as those of Melocanna, but smaller, and also a large number of floral parts, especially the stamens (as many as 120 in one floret. Little is known about the genus, and more intensive investigation is required (Dransfield 1980). However, two species, Ochlandra travancorica and O. stridula, are described below due to their socio-economic and ecological importance in southern India and Sri Lanka.
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Banik, R.L. (2016). Ochlandra Thwaites. In: Silviculture of South Asian Priority Bamboos. Tropical Forestry. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0569-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0569-5_8
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