Miscanthus - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 53

than M. sinensis or M. sacchariflorus , which makes it less likely to inflict damage to
skin when harvesting. Traditionally, it was also used for yellow dye (“tinctorius”
came from “tinct” color) [ 69 ]. M. tinctorius has a small stature (1-1.8 m), sparse

pubescence on the outer surface of leaves, smooth inner leaf surfaces, short
rhizomes, awnless spikelets, and short callus hairs [ 41 ]. The spikelets of
M. tinctorius have short callus hairs, usually only half of the spikelet length [ 41 ,
94 ]. Short callus hairs prevent wind dispersal of seeds, and the trait could be
introgressed into M. sinensis to limit seed dispersal [ 31 ]. M. tinctorius is mainly
distributed in the mountainous region of central Honshu, Japan [ 36 ]. The flowering
time of M. tinctorius is between August and October [ 36 ].

¼

Miscanthus oligostachyus

M. oligostachyus is a diploid species (2 n 38). M. oligostachyus has short and

slender rhizomes, and, on average, reaches between 0.6 and 0.8 m in height. The
outer leaf surface is smooth, but there is pubescence on the inner leaf surface. The
spikelets have awns, and the callus hairs are 2-5 mm long [ 41 ]. M. oligostachyus is
distributed in the mountainous region of Kyushu to southeastern Tohoku in Japan
[ 36 , 41 ]. The flowering time of M. oligostachyus is from August to October [ 36 ].

¼ 2 x ¼

Miscanthus intermedius

M. intermedius is a hexaploid (2 n 114). M. intermedius has thick rhizomes

and 1-2 m culm height, and its leaves are smooth on the outer surface but hairy on
the back surface. Its spikelets are 6-8 mm long, with 2-4 mm awns [ 41 ]. The
spikelets also have 5-7-mm-long callus hairs, which are longer than those of
M. tinctorius or M. oligostachyus [ 41 ]. The distribution of the species is restricted
to the northwestern part of Tohoku, Japan [ 41 ]. M. intermedius flowers from August
to October [ 36 ]. Based on morphological characteristics and cytological analysis, it
is considered an amphipolyploid that originated from a cross between M. tinctorius
and M. oligostachyus [ 95 ].

¼ 6 x ¼

Major Breeding Achievements

Until recently, some Miscanthus species have been mainly used as ornamental
garden plants and have still a gardening market in Europe and North America, and
in some cases for thatching and as animal feed in Asia. Currently, the main potential
economic use of Miscanthus is for feedstock of biofuel and biorefineries due to its
high biomass potential [ 22 ]. Clifton-Brown et al. [ 42 ] reported that Miscanthus
breeding programs at the Aberystwyth University in the UK and Plant Research
International in the Netherlands were initiated in 2004 and are focusing on improve-
ment of M. sinensis and using selections to develop improved versions of M.