BAMBUSA is a genus of tropical and subtropical clumping bamboo, usually giant, with numerous branches at a node, one or two much larger than the rest.
Source: BambooWeb
Genus species | Max Height | Max Diameter | Minimum Temperature | Comments/Descriptions |
B.arnhemica | 25′ | 4″ | 32F | From Northern Territory, Australia, along water courses. Dense clumps, thick culms, short internodes, low branches. |
B. atra | 25′ | 1.5″ | ? | Native to New Guinea, the Moluccas, and Sangihe Island. Often found on limestone. Thin-walled, tight clumping, reed-like shrub with large leaves/no low branching. Flowers nearly continuously, without dying. Related to B.forbesii – may be a Schizostachyum. |
B.balcooa | 60′ | 6″ | 18F | From India. Tangled clumps make harvest difficult. Strong, used for construction, crafts, shoots. |
B.bambos | 100′ | 7″ | 27F | A fast-growing species. Thick-walled, but soft. Lower branches are long, wiry, and armed with thorns. Edible shoots. |
B.bashihirsuta | 40′ | 3″ | ? | Erect, tight clumper. No lower branching. |
B.beecheyana | 50′ | 5″ | 15F | Culms with short internodes generally arch strongly and are covered with white powder when young. Edible shoots in demand. OLDER GENERATION INFECTED WITH MOSAIC POTEX VIRUS. |
B.beecheyana var. Pubescens | 50′ | 5″ | 15F | More erect, thicker nodal hair, branching lower, no virus |
B.bicicatricata | 35′ | 3″ | ? | Thick-walled culms with convex joints. |
B.bicitriatus | 30′ | 2″ | ? | Thick culm wall |
B.blumeana | 60′ | 4″ | 28F | A tall, thorny bamboo from India and Indonesia where it is used for construction, baskets, and edible shoots. |
B.boniopsis | 20′ | 1″ | 28F | Thick-walled clumper with small, narrow leaves. Green culms. Recently imported from Hainan, the southernmost island province in China. |
B.boniopsis cv. Yellowstripe | 20′ | 1″ | 28F | A small green bamboo with thin yellow pinstripes on the lower culms. |
B.burmanica | 50′ | 4″ | 32F | Strong, nearly solid culms. Leaves up to 12 by 2 inches. Dense clumps, shrubby, lower branches thorny. |
B.cerossima | 20′ | 1″ | 18F | Similar to Bambusa textilis var. gracilis in size, with more culm wax on new shoots. |
B.chungii | 35′ | 2.5″ | 21F | Thin-walled culms are covered with persistent, dense white bloom, giving them a pale blue appearance. Culms covered with white powder. Used in papermaking, weaving. |
B.chungii var. Barbelatta | 25′ | 1.5″ | 21F | Grows to about 3/4 the size, with lighter ring of hair around new culm nodes and looser culm sheath blade. |
B.contracta | 20′ | 1.5″ | 25F | Like a small B.textilis with thicker, shorter internodes |
B.cornigera | 35′ | 4″ | 25F | Culms zigzag, and internodes are slightly curved. |
B.dissimulator | 50′ | 3″ | 18F | A giant tropical, produces many thick walled, arching or erect, tough culms with long branches. |
B.dissemulator ‘albinodia’ | 35′ | 2″ | 20F | Similar to B.dissimulator but the white rings above and below the nodes are more pronounced. |
B.distegia | 30′ | 4″ | 25F | A bamboo from Sichuan, China that has green internodes with a slightly bending top but not drooping. Short, small leaves. It is said to tolerate light frosts. |
B.dolichoclada | 65′ | 4″ | 25F | Giant green culms, branches are yellowish-green and gradually turn pale yellow |
B.dolichomerithalla ‘Green stripe’ | 35′ | 2″ | 15F | Introduced in 1980 from Taiwan. The culms are a waxy yellow with dark green stripes. Prone to sooty mold in S.Florida. |
B.dolichomerithalla ‘Silverstripe’ | 35′ | 2″ | 15F | Introduced in 1980 from Taiwan. Dark green culms with lower internodes occasionally striped with white. |
B.edulis | 65′ | 3″ | 20F | A Taiwan native with large green leaves. Edible shoots |
B.emeiensis | 35′ | 2″ | 24F | reversion from Bambusa emeiensis ‘Viridiflavus’ without yellow stripes |
Bambusa emeiensis ‘Flavidovirens’ | 35′ | 2.5″ | 24F | Green stripes on pale green or yellow/gold culms. |
Bambusa emeiensis ‘Viridiflavus’ | 35′ | 2.5″ | 24F | Culms erect with yellow stripes alternating 180 degrees on each internode. |
B.eutuldoides | 45′ | 2″ | 15F | Erect, thick-walled culms; some with fine white stripes. Thick and long main branches Grown in Hong Kong area. |
B.eutuldoides basistriata | 45′ | 2″ | 15F | Similar to the above except culms are variegated. |
Bambusa eutuldoides ‘Viridivittata’ | 25′ | 1″ | 15F | Yellow culms with varying dark green stripes. New shoots have pink and peach tones. Some of the original stock was imported as Bambusa textilis Vittata. |
B.forbesii IRON RANGE BAMBOO | 16′ | 1.2″ | ? | Native to New Guinea and N.Australia. May be a Schizostachyum rather than a Bambusa. |
B.flexuosa LESSER THORNY BAMBOO | 40′ | 2.5″ | 15F | Culms thick-walled with nodding tips and zigzag lower portions. Lower branchlets specialized into tough thorns. |
B.gibba | 25′ | 2″ | 24F | Erect young culms covered with a white bloom |
B.glacuphylla | 15′ | 1″ | 30F | Dense, erect, bushy, variegated. Used as an ornamental hedge, easy to prune to desired shape. Previously sold as Bambusa variegata. |
B.guangxiensis | 18′ | 1.5″ | 30F | Compact with lush foliage to base, excellent trimmed to a dense hedge. |
B.intermedia | 40′ | 3″ | 25F | Young culms dark green, sometimes with purplish streaks. |
B.lako | Erect new green culms mature to shiny purple/black. Occasional stripes of green. One of the most striking of the tropical bamboos. | |||
B.lapidea | Thick-walled culms slightly swollen at the base. | |||
B.longispiculata | Somewhat open, erect clump of ivory-striped green culms. All plants identified as such in Florida have been determined to be B.tulda. | |||
B.luetostriata | 30′ | 2″ | ? | Erect with full foliage on top. Young leaves variegated white/green. Culms green, intermittent white stripes. |
B.maculata | 50′ | 3″ | ? | From Bali; local name pring tutul. Splotchy culms when mature. Used for furniture making. |
B.malingensis | 35′ | 2.5″ | 20F | More salt tolerant than most bamboos. Tight clumps with fine grained wood. Branches are slender; small leaves. |
B.multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’ | 35′ | 1.5″ | 12F | Culms and branches are bright yellow with irregular, longitudinal, narrow, dark green stripes. New shoots and culms are often reddish. |
B.multiplex ‘Green Alphonse’ | 35′ | 1.5″ | 12F | Similar to Alphonse Karr, but the culms and branches are light green with dark green stripes. |
B.multiplex ‘Fernleaf’ | 20′ | .5″ | 12F | Usually small in size with 10 to 20 closely spaced, two ranked leaves. Unstable; often reverts to the larger leaves. |
B.multiplex ‘Golden Goddess’ | 12′ | .75″ | 12F | A dwarf form similar to Fernleaf but with larger leaves. The culms tend to be yellowish. |
B.multiplex ‘Goldstripe’ | 35′ | 1.5″ | 12F | Mature green culms have a gold stripe that bleeds into the green. |
B.multiplex riviereorum | 6′ | .25″ | 2F | Solid culms and tiny leaves; similar to Fernleaf but smaller, more delicate looking. This form appears stable. |
B.multiplex ‘Silverstripe’ | 45′ | 1.5″ | 12F | Many leaves have white stripes and some culms are also striped with white. Largest of the B.multiplex group. |
B.multiplex ‘Stripestem Fernleaf’ | 12′ | .5″ | 12F | Similar to Fernleaf except that the culms are reddish or yellowish, striped with green. |
B.multiplex ‘Tiny Fern’ | 3′ | 1/8″ | 12F | A dwarf form of riviereorum with leaves often less than 1″ long. |
B.multiplex ‘Tiny Fern Striped’ | 3′ | 1/8″ | 12F | Same as Tiny Fern, but with striped culms. |
B.multiplex ‘Willowy’ | 20′ | 3/4″ | 12F | Culms droop or arch strongly with small, narrow leaves. |
B.nutans | 40′ | 3″ | 25F | The culms have a white ring below the nodes. |
B.oldhamii | 55′ | 4″ | 22F | The culms are straight and erect with relatively short branches forming fairly open clumps. Culm walls are thick, but soft. |
B.oldhamii f. revoluta | 55′ | 4″ | 22F | Yellow stripes on the culms on an otherwise standard oldhamii. |
B.oliveriana | 45′ | 2″ | 32F | Densely clumping with thick-walled, glossy green culms. |
B.pachiensis | 33′ | 2.5″ | 20F | Erect, thick-walled culms with yellow stripes in the lower internodes. |
B.pervariabilis viridistriata | 45′ | 2.5″ | 20F | Similar to the above but much more highly variegated. An extremely attractive tropical bamboo. New shoots are yellow with green stripes maturing to yellow/gold with varying dark green stripes. |
B.sp. ‘polymorpha‘ | 65′ | 6″ | ? | Green culms densely covered with grayish-white silky hair; branches short, slender, dense. ID uncertain. |
B.remotiflora | 40′ | 3″ | ? | New shoots are purple. |
B.rigida | 40′ | 2.5″ | ? | Erect, tight clumper. New culms are covered with white waxy powder. |
B.rutila | 35′ | 2.5″ | ? | Thick-walled zigzag culms with swollen nodes and drooping tips. Thorny. |
B.sinospinosa | 70′ | 5″ | 20F | Thick-walled zigzag culms with swollen nodes and drooping tips. Thorny. |
B.stenostachya | 70′ | 6″ | 36F | Basal internodes almost solid. Thorny. Culm sheaths persistent. Useful in construction. |
B.subtruncata | 20′ | 2″ | ? | Yellowish green longitudinal streaks on lower internodes. Similar pattern to G.maxima. |
B. textilis ‘albo-straiata’ or ‘albolineata’ | 30′ | 2″ | 15F | Same as above except culms are white-striped in irregular longitudinal |
B.textilis glabra | 25′ | 1.5″ | 15F | A slightly more open clumper than the type. Random bluish-white bloom. Overall size about the same as Gracilis. Culms glabrous (smooth). |
B.textilis gracilis | 25′ | 1.25″ | 15F | Culms more slender than the typical B.textilis; nodding top. Graceful foliage. Makes an excellent hedge or screen. |
B.textilis cv. maculata | 25′ | 1″ | 15F | Tight clumper, about 2″ between culms. Very erect culms. Base of shoot sheaths have purple streaks. |
B.textilis ‘Scranton’ | 40′ | 2″ | 15F | Distinct appearance. This textilis variety has very short branches giving it a unique feature on an otherwise standard form. Originated from S. Scranton’s cultivar. |
B.textilis ‘Kanaphaha’ | 50′ | 2.5″ | 15F | This is the variety of Bambusa textilis growing at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville, FL. Straight canes with long internodes have a whitish bloom. Very rare and highly sought-after. The largest textilis. |
B.tulda | 70′ | 4″ | 27F | The large, straight, thick-walled culms are one of the most useful of any tropical bamboo grown in the U.S. |
B.tulda striata | 70′ | 4″ | 27F | Same as B.tulda but with striped culms. |