Agnesia is a genus of herbaceous South American bamboo in the grass family.
It is named in honor of agrostologist (botanical specialist in the area of grasses) Mary Agnes Chase (1869-1963).
The only known species is Agnesia lancifolia, native to lowland tropical rainforests of Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
Agnesia lancifolia is perennial herb with 7-10 stems per clump, each up to 50 cm tall. Lower leaves lacking blades or with blades less than 5 mm long; upper leaves with blades up to 16 cm long. Each stem has 1-6 racemes at the tips of the culm or from the axils of the upper leaves, pistillate (female) and staminate (male) flowers in different spikelets on the same plant.Zuloaga, F. O. & E. J. Judziewicz. 1993. Agnesia, a new genus of Amazonian herbaceous bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Olyreae). Novon 3(3): 306–309. Mez, Carl Christian 1917. Novae species panicearum. Notizblatt des Botanischen Gartens und Museums zu Berlin-Dahlem 7(63): 45-78.
See also List of Poaceae genera
References