Chusquea culeou

Chusquea culeou
Colehual, colihues' bush in San Fabián de Alico.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Bambusoideae
Genus:	Chusquea
Species:	C. culeou
Binomial name
Chusquea culeou Desvaux.

Picture of Mapuches using C. coleou as spear during a malón raid

Chusquea culeou (Spanish: caña coligüe or colihue) is a gramineae perennial bush of the bamboo subfamilly that grows in the humid temperate forests of Chile and southwestern Argentina.

Its hairy lanceolate leaves have a spine on their end, and its flower is a whisk of light brown colour. The plant also produces a caryopsis fruit. After blooming and releasing its seeds, the plant dies. The cane is straight, of up to 6 metres in height, and was used by the Aboriginals for the pole of their spears. They are still used by the Mapuche people for a musical instrument known as trutruca.

A particularity of this Chusquea is that its wood is solid, differentiating from most of the bamboosoids, with hollow interiors.

External links

• Bamboo garden
• Chusquea culeou - E.Desv.
• Images
• Germplasm Resources Information Network