Branches are often found right to the base of the culm, and they are thorny in some species. The flowers are in spiky inflorescences (fig. 10 cf. fig. 6), and the bracts at the inflorescence base are broad and have two ciliate keels (fig. 12 cf. fig. 8). The species are tropical to subtropical in distribution, occurring up to 1,600m. They provide a very important source of construction material in warmer areas of central, eastern and southern Bhutan, and are also used to make bows for archery, and can also be woven into rough mats.
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