Reporter : Gao Yali / Publisher : China Science News
Ref : http://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2020/8/444594.shtm / Direct translation
Image credit : Web Screenshot
The reporter learned from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, that the researcher Li Dezhu of the Institute recently discovered the first new genus of succulent and pulpy bamboo in collaboration with researchers from France, Laos and Rio de Janeiro, and named the species Laobambos calcareus Haev ., Lamxay & D.Z. Li. Related research results were published in PhytoKeys, an international journal of plant taxonomy.
There are about 1600 species of bamboo subfamily of 120 genera in the world. Bamboo is famous for its rare flowering characteristics, but the succulent bamboo has never been reported. In 2012, Dr. Thomas Haevermans from the Museum of Natural History in Paris, France and Sorbonne University, and others, during a field investigation in the Kammun Karst area in central Laos, noticed a very unique and novel bamboo species. They quickly collaborated with Li Dezhu get in touch.
After years of research, the research team found that the bamboo has seasonal deciduous leaves, solid stalks, and single branching characteristics. In addition, it has a feature similar to other distant fleshy succulent plants, that is, the stalk tissue can store water like a sponge for use in the dry season, and the volume of the bamboo stalk will change seasonally with the water content in the stalk. In the dry season, the diameter of the stalk decreases and many grooves are formed on the outer wall of the stalk. Subsequently, the anatomical experiments carried out by the researchers on the bamboo species also showed this characteristic. Even the stalk tissue taken from the dried specimen can still quickly absorb water and expand. They used video to capture the rehydration process of the cross-section of the specimen stalk, showing this feature and its rehydration speed.
Further research found that the bamboo species is distributed in a tropical climate, with annual precipitation exceeding 2000 mm, but there is a very clear distinction between dry and rainy seasons throughout the year. Therefore, the "succulent" characteristics of the bamboo species make it particularly suitable for its natural The extreme seasonal climate of the habitat. Molecular phylogenetic studies show that this bamboo species is located in the old world tropical woody bamboo branch and is a sister group of two other bamboo species that also grow in tropical Asian karst regions. Although the other two kinds of bamboo are also distributed in karst areas, they are obviously different from this bamboo species in form.
It is understood that since the first discovery of this bamboo species, no flowering and fruiting plants have been seen, but researchers have conducted further field investigations and specimen studies, especially based on the uniqueness of its morphological characteristics in recent years, combined with anatomy and molecular systems As a result of the study, the cooperative team finally confirmed the systematic status of this special "succulent bamboo".
This bamboo species is very rare and has a narrow distribution area. As far as we know, only one population has been found. It is likely to be an endangered species of the World Conservation Union. More field work is needed to discover new population distribution and flower and fruit morphology as much as possible. Due to the special drought tolerance and morphological characteristics of this bamboo species, the researchers suggested further strengthening its physiological ecology and growth and development research.
Article link: http://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.156.51636
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