Miscanthus - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 50

Philippines [ 85 ] and is salt tolerant. Hybridization between M. sinensis and
M. sinensis var. condensatus resulted in fertile F 1 progenies with wide variations
in their morphologies [ 41 ].
Although Miscanthus exhibits a primarily self-incompatible mating system ,
M. sinensis var. condensatus appears to be self-compatible or at least can reproduce
apomictically [ 86 ]. This partial self-compatibility is considered as the result of
strong selection from high-salinity habitat that limits diversity [ 86 ]. Understanding
the genetic regulation of the self-compatibility character may provide insight on
how to break it or utilize it in other Miscanthus species.
One other particular trait of M. sinensis var. condensatus is that it does not
senesce in winter. Adati and Mitsuishi [ 85 ] reported that in the same habitat on
Hachijo Island, M. sinensis senesced before winter, while M. sinensis var.
condensatus leaves stayed green. However, M. sinensis var. condensatus exhibits
poor winter survival in cool areas such as Sapporo, Japan.
Miscanthus floridulus
M. floridulus is diploid, with a chromosome number of 38 [ 41 ] (Fig. 3.5 ). The width
of leaf blades of M. floridulus ranged between 2.0 and 2.6 cm, and the length ranged
between 75 and 90 cm. This species is classified as having the largest leaves in the
Eumiscanthus section. The panicles are about 50 cm long and the axis is generally
elongated [ 36 ]. Plants of this species can reach a height of 2.5 m in Japan, while in
Taiwan plants with about 3 m height were reported [ 36 ]. However, the spikelets are
smaller than M. sinensis , with lengths ranging from 3 to 3.5 mm [ 36 ].
M. floridulus is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, particularly the
Pacific side of Japan (except for Hokkaido), Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and Polynesia
[ 31 , 36 ]. Although most M. floridulus generally populates coastal regions, it also
Fig. 3.5 Miscanthus
floridulus