Leaf and culm sheath morphology of some important bamboo species of Assam

Abstract

Eight species of bamboo, i. e. Bambusa nutans, B. tulda, B. balcooa, B. bambos, B. pallida, Melocanna baccifera, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and D. giganteus, were studied for their leaf and culm sheath morphology with a view to make use of these characters in the field identification of these bamboos. The study revealed that both the plant parts are equally useful in field identification of the bamboo species studied so far. Keys to the species based on the characters studied have been formulated.