Morphological Characteristics of Floral Organs and Their Taxonomic Significance in 23 Species of Bamboo from Southwest China

This study conducted a systematic morphological comparative analysis of reproductive organ structures in 23 bamboo species from Southwest China, focusing on key morphological characteristics including spikelets, florets, lemma, palea, lodicules, pistils, and stamens. Principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were employed for multidimensional variable interpretation. The experimental results demonstrated significant interspecific differences in floral organ morphology among bamboo species; these differences not only aided in species identification but also provided morphological support for clarifying the ambiguous taxonomic boundaries within the <i>Bambusa-Dendrocalamus-Gigantochloa</i> (BDG) complex. Spikelet morphology, palea length, and stamen number were identified as core diagnostic indicators for the classification among different bamboo genera. The 11 core traits identified by PCA collectively explained 84.6% of the variation. The LDA further validated the taxonomic reliability of these traits, achieving an overall genus-level classification accuracy of 95.7%. Through quantitative analysis, this research confirmed the critical role of floral morphological characteristics in bamboo classification systems, offering novel morphometric evidence to enhance traditional taxonomic criteria.