Rhipidocladum is a genus of New World woody bamboo in the grass family.McClure, Floyd Alonzo. 1973. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 9: 101, f. 42Tropicos, Rhipidocladum McClure It is found in Mesoamerica, Trinidad, and South America. The genus is characterized by having erect, non-pseudopetiolate culm leaves, numerous branchlets arising in an aspidate (fan-like) array, and by having true caryopses as fruit. The name is derived from the Greek rhipid meaning "fanlike" and clad meaning "branch".McClure, F.A. 1973. Genera of bamboos native to the New World (Gramineae: Bambusoideae). Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 9: 1--148.
Species 22 species are accepted.Filgueiras, T. S. & A. P. Santos-Gonçalves. 2004. A checklist of the basal grasses and bamboos in Brazil (Poaceae). Journal of the American Bamboo Society 18(1): 7–18Pohl, R. W. & G. Davidse. 1994. 9. Rhipidocladum McClure. 6: 199–201. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F.
Rhipidocladum abregoense – Colombia (Norte de Santander) Rhipidocladum ampliflorum – Venezuela Rhipidocladum angustiflorum – Colombia, Venezuela Rhipidocladum arenicola – Peru Rhipidocladum barbinode – Mexico (Nayarit to Guerrero) Rhipidocladum bartlettii – Mexico (Chiapas, Yucatán Peninsula), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras Rhipidocladum clarkiae – Costa Rica Rhipidocladum cordatum – Ecuador Rhipidocladum harmonicum – from southern Mexico to Bolivia Rhipidocladum martinezii – Mexico (Chiapas) Rhipidocladum maxonii – Costa Rica, Guyana Rhipidocladum neumannii – Argentina (Salta, Tucumán), Bolivia (La Paz, Santa Cruz, Tarija) Rhipidocladum pacuarense – Nicaragua, Costa Rica Rhipidocladum panamense – Panamá Rhipidocladum parviflorum – Venezuela, Colombia, Perú, Bolivia, Brazil, Panamá Rhipidocladum pittieri – from Mexico (Michoacán) to Panamá Rhipidocladum prestoei – Trinidad Rhipidocladum racemiflorum – Mexico from Tucumán to Tamaulipas Rhipidocladum rubrofimbriatum – Venezuela Rhipidocladum sibilans – Venezuela, Guyana Rhipidocladum singuliflorum – Mexico (Jalisco) Rhipidocladum zoqueorum – Mexico (Chiapas)
Formerly included See Actinocladum and DidymogonyxKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Rhipidocladum geminatum = Didymogonyx geminatum Rhipidocladum longispiculatum = Didymogonyx longispiculatum Rhipidocladum verticillatum = Actinocladum verticillatum
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