Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 30, 2026

Otatea

Otatea, called weeping bamboo, is a genus of clumping bamboos in the grass family, native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia.

Last revised
Jun 30, 2026
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≈ 1 min
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Wikipedia ↗
Weeping bamboo
Mexican weeping bamboo
(Otatea aztecorum)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Tribe: Bambuseae
Subtribe: Guaduinae
Genus: Otatea
(McClure & E.W.Sm.) C.E.Calderón & Soderstr.
Synonyms1
  • Yushania subgenus Otatea McClure & E.W.Sm.

Otatea, called weeping bamboo, is a genus of clumping bamboos in the grass family, native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia.234

The name derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word "otatl", meaning "bamboo".

Species

13 species are accepted.5467

  • Otatea acuminata (Munro) C.E.Calderón ex Soderstr. – widespread from Chihuahua to Oaxaca
  • Otatea carrilloi Ruiz-Sanchez, Sosa & Mejía-Saulés – Chiapas
  • Otatea colombiana Ruiz-Sanchez & Londoño – Colombia
  • Otatea fimbriata Soderstr. – widespread from Norte de Santander to Chiapas
  • Otatea glauca L.G.Clark & G.Cortés – Chiapas
  • Otatea nayeeri Ruiz-Sanchez – western Mexico (Durango and Nayarit)
  • Otatea odam Ruiz-Sanchez & Art.Castro – Mexico (Durango and Zacatecas)
  • Otatea ramirezii Ruiz-Sanchez – Querétaro8
  • Otatea reynosoana Ruiz-Sanchez & L.G.Clark – Guerrero, Jalisco, Nayarit
  • Otatea rzedowskiorum Ruiz-Sanchez – Chiapas
  • Otatea transvolcanica Ruiz-Sanchez & L.G.Clark – México State, Jalisco, Colima
  • Otatea victoriae Ruiz-Sanchez – Hidalgo
  • Otatea ximenae Ruiz-Sanchez & L.G.Clark – Oaxaca, Michoacán
References

References

  1. The International Plant Names Index
  2. Calderón, Cléofe E. & Soderstrom, Thomas Robert. 1980. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 44: 21
  3. Tropicos, Otatea (McClure & E.W. Sm.) C.E. Calderón & Soderstr.
  4. Ruiz-Sanchez, E., V. Sosa, M. T. Mejía-Saules, X. Londoño & L. G. Clark. 2011. A taxonomic revision of Otatea (Poaceae, Bambusoideae: Bambuseae) including four new species. Systematic Botany 36(2): 314–336.
  5. "Otatea (McClure & E.W.Sm.) C.E.Calderón ex Soderstr". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  6. Espejo Serna, A., A. R. López-Ferrari & J. Valdés-Reyna. 2000. Poaceae. Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas: una Sinopsis Florística 10: 7–236 [and index].
  7. Ruiz-Sanchez, E., 2015. Parametric and non-parametric species delimitation methods result in the recognition of two new Neotropical woody bamboo species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 93, pp.261–273.
  8. Ruiz-Sanchez, Eduardo. 2012. Acta Botánica Mexicana 99: 25, figure 1