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Woody perennial; culms erect, freely branching from the upper nodes, as much as 5 m. long, the branches often clambering over the surrounding vegetation; sheaths glabrous, pubescent or hispid, usually longer than the internodes, the lower ones of the main culm short, nearly bladeless; blades asymmetrical, 10-30 cm. long, 2-9.5 cm. wide, or those of the branches smaller, acuminate, scabrous, short-petiolate, the petioles hispid; panicles 5-15 cm. long, terminal on the main culm and branches, sometimes axillary from the upper sheath, the branches usually narrowly ascending, with a single pistillate spikelet at the end, the staminate spike-lets scattered on short branchlets below it; staminate spikelets 5 mm. long, the lemma awned, the awn 2-3 mm. long; second glume and sterile lemma of the pistillate spikelets 10-25 mm. long, long-acuminate, divergent, exposing the fruit; fruit 5-6 mm. long, smooth and shining, white to drab.
Bamboo-like, scrambling perennial, 0.9-3.0 m high. Leaf blade 170 x 25-70 mm, flat, broadly lanceolate, pseudopetiolate, cross-veins visible. Inflorescence a scanty, whitish panicle, with male spikelets below and female spikelets above; female spikelets on clavate pedicels. Male spikelets smaller than female spikelets; glumes absent; lemma 3-nerved, shortly awned. Female spikelets 7-10 mm long (excluding awns), dorsiventrally compressed; lower glume drawn out into an awn up to 20 mm long. Floret 1; lemma 5-nerved, keeled, awnless; palea similar to lemma. Flowering time Dec.-May.
Bamboo-like scrambling perennial, 900-3000 mm high. Leaf blade 170 x 25-70 mm, flat, broadly lanceolate, pseudopetiolate, crossveins visible. Inflorescence a scanty whitish panicle, with male spikelets below and female spikelets above. Male spikelet smaller than female spikelet; glumes 0; lemma awned; anther 3.0-3.5 mm long. Female spikelet 7-10 mm long (excluding awns); lower glume drawn out into an awn up to 20 mm long; floret 1.
Leaf-laminae 7-20 x 2·5-7 cm., glaucous, ovate, ovate-oblong to lanceolate-oblong, asymmetric to a varying degree, base rounded or broadly cuneate, contracted into the short hairy pseudo-petiole, apex acuminate, expanded, glabrous, or scattered hairy on the lower surface.
Female spikelets 7-10 mm. long, rather turgid; inferior glume c. 7-9 mm. long, acuminate, 5-7-nerved; the superior almost twice as long, tapering into a long flexuous cauda, 7-9-nerved; floret bony, whitish, glossy, shed without the persistent glumes.
Panicle (3)7-18 cm. long, terminal (rarely with a laterally arising one from the axil of the uppermost leaf), erect, usually contracted, narrowly triangular in outline; rhachis angular, sometimes hairy; branches simple or divided.
Leaf-sheaths striate, rather tight, inconspicuously keeled in the upper part, glabrous or scattered pilose, the mouth always shortly ciliate.
Culms from 0·9-almost 5 m. tall, many-noded, usually branched, erect, straggling or arching, glabrous, usually glossy.
Male spikelets laterally arranged, 3-6 mm. long, linear-lanceolate, acuminate; lemma awned; anthers c. 2·5 mm. long.
Ligule rather short, truncate, often lacerate, broader than the base of the pseudo-petiole.
Pedicels of the male spikelets filiform, of the female spikelets conspicuously clavate.
Fascicles of lateral shoots bearing very small leaves occasionally occur
A tall cane-like grass up to 3 m. high
A stout perennial grass.
