Chimonocalamus longiusculus Hsueh & T.P. Yi (Poaceae:Bambusoidae) a New Record for India

During Plant exploration tour to Apatani Plateau, Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh in October 2008, an aromatic bamboo was collected by the first author. The plant sample was collected from the hills of 'Luro Poliyang' near Ziro town, the head quarter of Lower Subansiri district. A clump of yellowish green bamboo with long internodes, was spotted, growing inside the subtropical forest at an altitude of c. 1715m. On approaching the bamboo clump, the local guide told that the bamboo's internodes contain clear water which is aromatic and nice for drinking. On cutting one of the bamboo culms, to the suprise it was found as told by the local guide. A single internode contains about 25-50 ml of the sweet aromatic liquid. It was also observed that the freshly cut and split bamboo when kept in a room gives a strong swet aroma for about a week. The plants appear to be rare as there were only a few clumps found in the whole hill during the survey. On close examination along with studies confirmed thatthe plant was reported as endemic to China (Dezhu & Stapleton 2006; Hsueh & Yi 1979). This is the first report from India and hence it is a new distributional record.