World checklist of bamboo and rattan species

Maria S. Vorontsova

Kew is global centre for plant and fungal diversity research with unrivalled biodiversity collections:7.5 million dried plants1.25 million dried fungi67,000 living seed samples45,000 stored DNA samples85,000 living plants250 science staff

This common bamboo has no name

and is not known to science at all

Valiha diffusa S. Dransf.

The most common bamboo in Madagascar was named in 1998

Photo: S. Dransfield

Knee

• Swelling at base petiole / leaf sheath junction

• Damping properties?

• Calaminae only

Rattans are tropical

climbing palms

“species” are still defined and documented

by groups of herbarium specimens

Botanical field work in Madagascar

Botanical field work in Madagascar

Kew herbarium collections are the

foundation of plant classification

Amazing progress in knowledge of grasses since 1986

Panicoidsmaize Zea mayssugar Saccharum officinarumsorghum Sorghum bicolornumerous millets

Chloridoidsfinger millet Eleusine coracana

Aristida clade

rice clade: Oryza sativa

bamboos

Pooidswheat Triticum aestivumbarley Hordeum vulgarerye Secale cerealeoat Avena sativa

PACMAD clade:tropical grasses

BEP clade:temperate grasses

no microhairsX = 7 (large)

panicoid spikeletX = 9 or 10

genome duplication

Arundinarieae(temperate woody

bamboos, 550)

Olyreae(herbaceous

bamboos, 125)

Bambuseae(tropical woody

bamboos, 805)

Molecular data support

three main lineages of Bambusoideae

Bamboos from a phylogenetic perspective

Plant names change: Thamnocalamus tessellatus is now called Bergbambos tessellata

Photo: G. B. Reiners

Baseline diversity inventory enables species utilization and conservation and is necessary to plan interventions to support restoration, soil protection, and renewable energy