''Oxytenanthera'' is a genus of African bamboo. Bamboos are members of the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

Poaceae. The only recognized species in this genus is ''Oxytenanthera abyssinica''. This species is found widespread across much of

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. In tropical Africa it is found outside of the humid forest zone from Senegal to Ethiopia.In Eastern Africa it is found to occur from Ethiopia all the way down to northern South Africa. The genus formerly contained several Asiatic species, but these are now generally considered to be better suited to other genera (primarily '' Dendrocalamus'' or '' Gigantochloa'' but see also '' Bambusa

Cephalostachyum ''Cephalostachyum'' is a genus of Asian and Madagascan bamboo in the grass family. The plants are of small to medium size compared to most other bamboo. Their choice habitats are mountain to lowland forests. ;Species ;formerly included see '' ...

Pseudoxytenanthera ''Pseudoxytenanthera'' is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family native to India, Sri Lanka, and Indochina. ;Species # '' Pseudoxytenanthera bourdillonii'' (Gamble) H.B.Naithani – India # '' Pseudoxytenanthera monadelpha'' (Thwaites) So ...

Schizostachyum ''Schizostachyum'' is a tall or shrub-like tropical genus of bamboo. They are natives mostly of tropical Asia and Papuasia, with a few species in Madagascar and on certain islands in the Pacific. A few have become naturalized in other tropical ...

Yushania ''Yushania'' is a genus of bamboo in the grass family. Recent classification systems place ''Yushania'' in the tribe Arundinarieae. The species of ''Yushania'' are evergreen, spreading, thornless bamboos native to Himalayan, African, Chinese ...

''); However, molecular studies show species of ''Oxytenanthera'' quite distinct from '' Dendrocalamus'' spp. ''Oxytenanthera'' is the most common lowland bamboo in eastern and central Africa, resulting in its common name of African lowland bamboo. It is also referred to as savannah bamboo or Bindura bamboo. ''Oxytenanthera abyssinica'' is a drought-resistant species of bamboo that grows in savanna woodland, semi-arid wooded grassland and thicket. It mass-flowers (gregarious flowering) after long periods of vegetative growth of more than 70 years before occasionally sets seed. The seed of ''Oxytenanthera abyssinic'' is considered rare. After setting seed the parent plant dies back, sometimes synchronously across large areas. The last known seeding period occurred in 2006 in West Africa and 2010 in Ethiopia.

Uses

Traditional uses of ''Oxytenanthera abyssinica'' include weaving for basketry, as a building material for local construction, houses and furniture, and in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania in

Iringa Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 151,345 (). It is situated at a latitude of 7.77°S and longitude of 35.69°E. The name is derived from the Hehe language, Hehe word ''lilinga'', meaning fort. Iringa is the administrative capita ...

, Mbeya and

Ruvuma Ruvuma River, formerly also known as the Rovuma River, is a river in the African Great Lakes region. During the greater part of its course, it forms the border between Tanzania and Mozambique (in Mozambique known as ''Rio Rovuma''). The river is ...

Regions it is tapped for its juice, and fermented for the production of a local alcoholic beverage. However more recently the species has come under commercial production by EcoPlanet Bamboo. Using seed from the most recent flowering event this entity has used ''Oxytenanthera'' abyssinica for the regeneration of degraded agricultural lands in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Through EcoPlanet Bamboo’s extensive R&D around this species and trials carried out to showcase its ability to restore degraded landscapes Oxytenanthera abyssinica has recently been touted by international institutions including the World Resources Institute as having a high potential for industrial production. Kenyan entity Kitil Farm ''http://www.kitilfarm.com/''
/ref> has developed a resource base of ''Oxytenanthera'' abyssinica seedlings in Isinya.

References

External links

Bamboos of India

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081025045855/http://www.inbar.int/documents/country%20report/Tanzania.htm Mhando Leonardo (n.d.) The state of bamboo and rattan development in Tanzania. Tanzania Forest Research Institute-TAFORI.]
Pattanaik, S. and Hall, J.B. 2009. Species relationships in ''Dendrocalamus'' inferred from AFLP fingerprints. VIII World Bamboo Congress Proceedings, Vol. 5 Biology and Taxonomy; pp. 5–27 – 5–40.

Ingram et al. 2010. The bamboo production to consumption system in Cameroon. INBAR and CIFOR.
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2716365, from2=Q641048 Bambusoideae genera Flora of Africa Bambusoideae Monotypic Poaceae genera