Ochlandra wightii  

Ochlandra wightii (Munro) C.E.C. Fisch.

Family       : Poaceae

Common Name : ഈറ (Mal)

:Kerala reed bamboo(Eng) 

Erect shrubby bamboo; culms to 7 m tall, 1.5-2 cm diameter, nodes prominent with grayish bands on both sides, average internode length 50 cm; culm-sheath 8-15 cm long excluding the blade, 5 cm broad, covered with appressed, light brown subulate hairs; blade 6 cm long, 1-1.5 cm broad, lanceolate, acuminate. Leaves 18-35 x 3.5-7 cm, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, attenuate at the base, glabrous on both surfaces, whitish beneath, margins cartilaginous, smooth, mid-vein prominent; secondary veins 10-14 pairs; sheath striate ending in a smooth rounded callus with two short auricles and a few stiff deciduous bristles; ligules very long. Inflorescence terminal spikes, rachis thick. Spikelets several in the verticils in the axils of bracts, glabrous, 2.3-2.8 x 0.4-0.6 cm, conical steriate; sterile glumes 4, basal, 0.6-2 cm long in flowers, 09-1.5 cm in fruits, outer two thicker and ovate-truncate with a subulate point; the inner two ovate-acute, mucronate; fertile glumes thin, membranous, 1.8 cm long in flowers, 2.5-3 cm long in fruits, many veined; palea 1.8 cm long in flowers, 3.5 cm long in fruits, narrow; lodicule 1, 1.3 cm long, many nerved, serrate at apex. Stamens up to 60; filaments narrow, long, apiculate. Ovary glabrous, perigynium thickened and enclosing the style; stigmas 5, plumose. Fruit 5.5 x 1.8 cm, fleshy.

Culms : Tufted Height: 6.5-7.5m  , Diameter:1.5-2cm  

Internode Length: 48cm  

Culm Sheath Colour: 8-15 cm long excluding the blade, 5 cm broad, covered with many appressed light brown subulate hairs; blade 6 cm long and1-1.5 cm broad, lanceolate acuminate.

Length of Leaf: 18-36 cm  

Breadth of Leaf : 3.5-7.5 cm  

Leaf Shape: oblong-lanceolate

Use: Construction, scaffoldings, pulp and paper, edible shoots

Distribution : South India (Endemic)

Flowering Cycle:  15-17 years 

Flowering & Fruiting : December-April