Arborescent bamboos, sometimes shrubby or scrambling. Rhizomes short necked, pachymorph. Culms erect, pendulous, or clambering, straight or slightly flexuose; internodes terete, distally often white powdery; wall usually thin; nodal ridge not prominent; sheath scar prominent. Branches many, subequal. Culm sheaths deciduous, leathery to thickly papery, usually rigid, white powdery, apex truncate or concave, sometimes with subcircular projection at base of one margin; auricles usually inconspicuous; oral setae usually developed; ligule short, truncate, margin serrulate or fimbriate; blade usually reflexed, adaxially densely hispid, apex usually involute. Leaf sheaths usually grooved; auricles usually inconspicuous; blade large, transverse veins partially visible abaxially. Inflorescence fully bracteate, iterauctant; with several to many sessile pseudospikelets in loose, spicate clusters on leafy or leafless flowering branches. Pseudospikelet prophyll triangular to linear-lanceolate; gemmiferous bracts 1 to several; fertile florets 1 or 2, or florets 3 or 4 with only terminal or subterminal floret fertile; rachilla usually disarticulating (not in S. chinense), extending beyond fertile floret, glumes usually absent (2 in S. chinense); lemma convolute; palea similar to lemma, but longer, not keeled; lodicules usually absent, sometimes 1–3. Stamens 6. Ovary stalked; style 1; stigmas 3, plumose. Caryopsis fusiform, apex with persistent style base.
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