ENDEMIC HERBACEOUS BAMBOO GENERA OF CUBA (POACEAE, BAMBUSOIDEAE, OLYREAE)

A morphological, anatomical, and taxonomic study of the endemic herbac eous bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Olyreae) genera Ekmanochloa and Mn iochloa (including its new segregate Piresiella) is presented; the new combination Piresiella strephioides is proposed. An unusual feature o f all three genera is the presence of inflorescences consisting of pai red, conjugate racemes. Illustrations of the leaf blade anatomy show u nusual features such as the absence of fusoid cells in Ekmanochloa and Mniochloa and the presence of compound epidermal papillae in Ekmanoch loa. The three genera are compared with possible close relatives withi n the Olyreae.