Getting to Know

the Bamboos

Bambusa bambos var. gigantea

Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata”

Paintings bySharma

Dendrocalamus giganteus

By Gib CooperTradewinds Bamboo Nursery at

BAMBOODIRECT.COM

INTRODUCTIONA basic review of the different

kinds of bamboo from around the world and where they perform in the USA. The different bamboo species are placed into several

groupings for gardeners.

HIMALAYACALAMUS HOOKERIANUS/BLUE BAMBOO

Getting to Know the Bamboos

• Introduction• Natural Distribution• Growing zones• Taxon..Oh..My!• Groupings:• Clumping• Not so clumping and

running• Dwarf bamboo

• Shrub bamboo• Tall Shrub bamboo• Timber bamboo• Cold tolerant• Heat tolerant• Temperate• Sub-tropical• Tropical

BAMBOO REGIONS OF THE WORLD

The natural distribution of bamboo in the

world.CHUSQUEA LIEBMANNII

USDA COLD HARDINESS MAP

Warm winters, cooler summers with cooler

nightime temperatures

Warm winters, hot summers with

warmer nightime temperatures

Heat plays a role, particularly the species with tropical and mountain origins.

Very Cold Hardy MountainBamboo and Temperate Runners Add thisZone for Temperate RunnersThe Not So Hardy Mountain Bambo Subtropical Clumpers and Tropicals in

the Southern Tips

Basic Grass PartsNames of bamboo and grass parts are used in discussing bamboo identity. There are many descriptive terms used to describe various features. These botanical terms are usually in Latin - a dead language.

Taxon..Oh..My!

FlowersShoots

CulmsSheaths

Leaves

Fargesia murielae var. SABE 939

Dendrocalamus asper

Guadua amplexifolia

Guadua angustifolia

Bambusa vulgaris Wamin striata

Guadua velutina

Sasa palmata

Chimonobambusa macrophylla ‘Intermedia’

Otatea acuminata aztecorum

Phyllostachys bambusoides

Dendrocalamus asper

D. Asper sheath hat!

Bambusa oldhamii

Phyllostachys edulis

MOSO BAMBOO (formerly P. heterocycla pubescens)

Phyllostachys aurea

Guadua aculeata

Bambusa vulgaris ‘Wamin’

Schizostachyum brachycladum

Gigantochloa atroviolacia

Dendrocalamus strictus

Phyllostachys flexuosa ‘Kimmei’

Guadua angustifolia (cuttings)

Otatea acuminata aztecorum

Olmeca reflexa

Rhipidocladum racemiflorum

Chusquea bilimekiiBambusa sp. Chusquea andina

Botanical Plant Names

Binomial system - Names consist of genus beginning in a capital letter followed by the species name in lower case letters-example: Phyllostachys aurea.

Variants consist of individuals from a differing population found in the wild, variants found in cultivated populations or hybrids between related species.

Standard species are those collected in the wild and brought into cultivation.

Phyllostachys aurea flavescens-inversa

Phyllostachys aurea ‘koi’

The Herbarium

• The ID of bamboo is determined by taxonomists using dried plant parts systematically collected, prepared and stored on herbarium sheets. The photo (right) shows many of the native bamboo sheets the internationally recognized XAL Herbarium at the Ecology Institute in Xalapa. The Institute and Clavijero Botanical Gardens is the home of the National Collection of Mexican Bamboo.

Dr. Lynn Clark collecting bamboo parts.

Sample Herbarium Sheet from the Ada Hayden Herbarium at Iowa State University of Chusquea riosaltensis collected by Lynn Clark in 1991

From Bamboo in the United StatesFrom American

Bamboos

An outline of the distinguishing characteristics of different bamboo genera. These differences are used as a guide to taxonomic identification.

Groupings: • Mountain Bamboo: These

are bamboo species from the higher elevations of the Andes, Central America or the Himalayan regions of India and China. Many of these species are fairly recent introductions and have not been trialed in all areas of the USA. All seem to do quite well along the West coast. Some do well in the Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions to New England. They do not like the desert regions, Texas or deep South. Consider not ordering these if warm summer nights are the norm. They do not mind warm days but need cool nights. These are risky to grow if you are in the hot climates.

Borinda boliana

Sino-Himalayan Bamboo

Fargesia nitida

Himalayacalamus falconeri ‘Damarapa’

Himalayacalamus

porcatus

Himalayacalamus

hookerianus

Latin America Cloud Forest Bamboo

Chusquea aperta

Chusquea sp. ‘las Vigas’

Chusquea bilimekii

Mexican botanists, Gilberto Cortés and Antonio Velasquez in the Cofre de Perote cloud forest.

Chusquea sp. (New?)

Tropical Clumpers:

• Bambusa chungii: These clumping bamboos are tropical in origin. Clumping bamboo can form tight thickets of culms or maintain culms a short distance apart. You should plant these far enough apart to walk between the clumps. These are the well behaved bamboo that stay put when planted. However, one must account for the eventual size of the mature clump mass to properly place the larger plants in the garden.

Gigantochloa sp.

Suwali

More tropical clumpers

Bambusa malingensis

Dendrocalamus membranaceous

Gigantochloa atroviolacia

Tropical Timber Bamboo• Guadua angustifolia:

Not so Clumping Guadua angustifolia

Guadua angustifolia

Long necked rhizomes can space the culms of some clumpers further apart than others.

Odd things to confuse• There are culm oddities that may

confuse a person in attempting to determine the I.D.of bamboos.

Phy. viridis Robert Young

(variant)

Phy. viridis Robert Young (normal)

A rare deformity

• Dwarf Bamboo:

Shibatea chinensis

Sasa veitchii

Pleioblastus variegatus/P. fortuniiPleioblastus viridi-striatus

Sasaella hidaensis

Peudosasa owatarii

Indocalamus tessellatus

Hibanobambusa tranquilans ‘Shiroshima

Chimonobambusa marmorea

Pleioblastus pygmaeus

Sasa palmata

Pleioblastus gramineus

Pleioblastus chino murakamianus

Sasaella masumeana albostriata

Phyllostachys aureosulcata ‘Spectabilis’

Semiarundinaria fastuosa

Phyllostachys nigra

Phyllostachys aurea

(topiary style)

Phyllostachys aureosulcata Aureocaulis

(2 branches at node is a trait of Phyllostachys

Phyllostachys

aureosulcata

Timber bamboo

Phyllostachys bambusoides

Phyllostachys heterocycla

pubescens / MOSO

Guadua angustifolia bi-color

Phyllostachys vivax

Cold tolerant bamboo

Bambusa oldhamii

Not-so cold tolerant?

Phyllostachys nuda

Phyllostachys bissetii

Fargesia robusta

Fargesia nitida

Fargesia murielae

Heat Loving Bamboo

• Not all bamboo can take the summer heat

Otatea acuminata aztecorum

Dendrocalamus strictus

Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata’

Temperate runners

Phyllostachys viridis ‘Robert Young’

Phyllostachys bambusoides

Phyllostachys nigra Henon

Phyllostachys nigra

Sub-tropical bamboo

Bambusa ventricosa

Bambusa oldhamii

Bambusa textilis

Bambusa multiplex

Bambusa malingensis

Tropical bamboo

Dendrocalamus asper

Guadua aculeata

Bambusa vulgaris

Vittata

Bambusa oldhamii Gigantochloa sp.

Dendrocalamus giganteus

D. Asper ‘Hitam’/Black Asper

Thrysostachys siamensis

Guadua angustifolia

Thank you

Pseudosasa japonica