''Bambusa vulgaris'', common bamboo, is an open-clump type

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

species. It is native to

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and to the province of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

in southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, but it has been widely cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in several regions.Dieter Ohrnberger, ''The bamboos of the world'', pages 279–280, Elsevier, 1999, Among bamboo species, it is one of the largest and most easily recognized.''Biology Pamphlets'' (Volume 741), page 15,

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

, 1895D. Louppe, A.A. Oteng-Amoako and M. Brink, ''Timbers'' (vol. 1), pages 100–103, PROTA, 2008,

Description

''Bambusa vulgaris'' forms moderately loose clumps and has no thorns.Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ''Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae'', page 22, Oxford University Press, 2007, It has lemon-yellow culms (stems) with green stripes and dark green leaves.''Bambusa vulgaris''
, OzBamboo; Retrieved: 2007-12-19 Stems are not straight, not easy to split, inflexible, thick-walled, and initially strong.
, Protabase, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa The densely tufted culms grow high and thick.A. N. Rao, V. Ramanatha Rao and

John Dransfield John Dransfield (born 1945) is an honorary research fellow and former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom, as well as being an authority on the phylogenetic classification of palms. Dransfield has written o ...

, ''Priority species of bamboo and rattan'', page 25, Bioversity International, 1998, Culms are basally straight or flexuose (bent alternately in different directions), drooping at the tips. Culm walls are slightly thick.Bambusa vulgaris
Flora of China, eFloras.com Nodes are slightly inflated.

Internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

are . Several branches develop from mid-culm nodes and above. Culm leaves are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

with dense

pubescence Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. I ...

. Leaf blades are narrowly

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflet (bo ...

. Flowering is not common, and there are no seeds. Fruits are rare due to low pollen viability caused by irregular

meiosis Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately ...

. At the interval of several decades, the whole population of an area blooms at once, W. Arthur Whistler, ''Tropical ornamentals: a guide'', pages 77–78, Timber Press, 2000, and individual stems bear a large number of flowers. Vegetation propagates through clump division, by

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...

, stem and branch cutting,

layering Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants. Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...

, and

marcotting Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants. Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...

.D. Louppe, A.A. Oteng-Amoako and M. Brink (edit.), ''Timbers 1'' (Volume 7), PROTA, 2008, The easiest and most practised cultivation method is culm or branch cutting. In the Philippines, the best results were obtained from one-node cuttings from the lower parts of six-month-old culms. When a stem dies, the clump usually survives. A clump can grow out of stem used for poles, fences, props, stakes, or posts. Its rhizomes extend up to 80 cm before turning upward to create open, fast-spreading clumps. The easy propagation of ''B. vulgaris'' explains its seemingly wild occurrence. The average chemical composition is

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wa ...

41–44%,

pentosan Pentosans are polymers composed of pentoses. In contrast to cellulose, which is composed of hexose (glucose) monomers, pentosans are derived from five-carbon sugars such as xylose. Pentosan-rich biomass is the precursor to furfural. The pentosan c ...

s 21–23%,

lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity a ...

26–28%,

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

1.7–1.9%, and

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...

0.6–0.7%.

Taxonomy

The bambusoid taxa have long been considered the most "primitive" grasses, mostly because of the presence of

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or ...

, indeterminate

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

s, pseudospikelets (units of

or flower clusters and

glume In botany, a glume is a bract (leaf-like structure) below a spikelet in the inflorescence (flower cluster) of grasses (Poaceae) or the flowers of sedges (Cyperaceae). There are two other types of bracts in the spikelets of grasses: the lemma and ...

s or leaf-like structures in woody bamboos that is similar to

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the flowers of grasses, sedges and some other Monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the spikelet that ...

s or clumps of grass), and

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s with three lodicules (tiny scale-like structure at the bottom of a

floret This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

s or clump of grass flowers, found between

lemma Lemma may refer to: Language and linguistics * Lemma (morphology), the canonical, dictionary or citation form of a word * Lemma (psycholinguistics), a mental abstraction of a word about to be uttered Science and mathematics * Lemma (botany), ...

, the lowest part of spikelets, and sexual organs of the flower), six

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fila ...

s, and three stigmas.Clark, LG, W Zhang, JF Wendel. 1995. A Phylogeny of the Grass Family (Poaceae) Based on ndhF Sequence Data. Systematic Botany 20(4): 436–460. Bamboos are some of the fastest growing plants in the world. ''B. vulgaris'' is a species of the large genus ''

Bambusa ''Bambusa'' is a large genus of clumping bamboos. Most species of ''Bambusa'' are rather large, with numerous branches emerging from the nodes, and one or two much larger than the rest. The branches can be as long as 11 m (35 ft). The ...

'' of the clumping bamboo tribe

Bambuseae The Bambuseae are the most diverse tribe of bamboos in the grass family (Poaceae). They consist of woody species from tropical regions, including some giant bamboos. Their sister group are the small herbaceous bamboos from the tropics in tribe O ...

, which are found largely in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

areas of Asia, especially in the wet tropics. The pachymorph (

sympodial Sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, also referred to a ...

or superposed in such a way as to imitate a simple axis)

system of clumping bamboos expands horizontally by only a short distance each year.Bamboo Biology – Runners vs. Clumpers
, Complete Bamboo, Bamboo Plant Information Resource The shoots emerge in a tight or open habit (group), depending on the species; common bamboo has open groups. Regardless of the degree of openness of each species' clumping habit, none of the clumpers are considered invasive. New culms can only form at the very tip of the rhizome. The Bambuseae are a group of

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

s in subfamily

Bambusoideae Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

, characterized by having three stigmata and tree-like behavior.

Cultivars

At least three groupings of ''B. vulgaris''

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s can be distinguished: * Plants with green stems * Golden bamboo (plants with yellow stems): Plants always with yellow stems and often with green stripes of different intensity. Usually the stems have thicker walls than those of the green stem group. This group is often distinguished as ''Bambusa vulgaris'' var. ''striata''. * Buddha's belly bamboo: Plants with stems up to about tall, in diameter, green, with -long inflated internodes in the lower part. This group is often distinguished as ''B. v.'' var. ''wamin''. The more common cultivars are:Laurence Hatch, ''

Cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s of Woody Plants'' (Volume I: A-G), section Bambusa, TCR Press, 2007, * 'Aureovariegata' (''B. v.'' var.'' aureovariegata'' Beadle): With rich golden yellow culms striped in green, sometimes in very thin lines, it is the most common variety of ''B. vulgaris''. * 'Striata' (''Bambusa vulgaris var. striata'' (Lodd. ex Lindl.) Gamble): A common variety, smaller in size than other varieties, with bright yellow internodes and random markings with longitudinal stripes in light and deep green. * 'Wamin' (''B. v.'' f. ''waminii'' T.H.Wen): It is smaller in size than other varieties with short and flattened internodes. Likely to have originated in South China, 'Wamin' bamboo is spread throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Basally inflated internodes give it a unique appearance.''Bamboo The Amazing Grass'', page 44, Bioversity International * 'Vittata' (''B. v.'' f. ''vittata'' (Rivière & C.Rivière) McClure): A common variety that grows up to tall, it has

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...

-like striping in green. * 'Kimmei': Culms yellow, striped with green * 'Maculata': Green culms mottled with black, turning mostly black with aging * 'Wamin Striata': Grows up to tall, light green striped in dark green, with swollen lower internodes

Distribution and habitat

Common bamboo is the most widely grown bamboo throughout the tropics and subtropics. Although mostly known only from cultivation, spontaneous (non

domesticated Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...

), escaped, and

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

populations exist throughout the tropics and subtropics in and outside Asia. ''B. vulgaris'' is widely cultivated in

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, as well as tropical Africa including Madagascar. It is highly concentrated in the

Indomalayan The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s. The species is one of the most successful bamboos in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

.Maxim Lobovikov, Lynn Ball and María Guardia, ''World bamboo resources'', pages 13–18,

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

, 2007, Popular as a hothouse plant by the 1700s, it was one of the earliest bamboo species introduced into Europe. It is believed to have been introduced to Hawaii in the time of Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

(the late 18th century), and is the most popular ornamental plant there.Horace Freestone Clay, James C. Hubbard and Rick Golt, ''Tropical Exotics'', page 10, University of Hawaii Press, 1987, ''B. vulgaris'' is widely cultivated in the USA and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, apparently since introduction by Spaniards in 1840. It may have been the first foreign species introduced into the United States by Europeans.Ted Jordan Meredith, ''Timber Press pocket guide to bamboos'', page 49, Timber Press, 2009,

Ecology

''B. vulgaris'' grows mostly on river banks, road sides, wastelands, and open ground, generally in the low altitudes. It is a preferred species for

erosion control Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion in agriculture, land development, coastal areas, river banks and construction. Effective erosion controls handle surface runoff and are important techniques i ...

. It grows best under humid conditions, but can tolerate unfavorable conditions like low temperatures and drought. Though adoptable to a wide range of soils, common bamboo grows more vigorously on moist soils. It can tolerate frost down to , and can grow on ground up to above sea level, though in higher altitudes stems grow shorter and thinner. In extreme droughts, it may defoliate completely.

Pests

The two major threats to the species are small bamboo borers (''

Dinoderus minutus ''Dinoderus minutus'', the Bamboo borer, is a species of wood-boring beetle. In tropical regions (and perhaps others), it is one of the main pests of bamboo, attracted by the internal starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate cons ...

''), which as adults bore stems in India, China, Philippines, Australia, and Japan, and bamboo weevils ('' Cyrtotrachelus longimanus''), which destroy shoots during their

larval stage A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

in South China.D. S. Hill, ''Pests of Crops in Warmer Climates and Their Control'', page 517, Springer, 2008, Other

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

include leaf blight (''

Cercospora ''Cercospora'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi. Most species have no known sexual stage, and when the sexual stage is identified, it is in the genus ''Mycosphaerella''. Most species of this genus cause plant diseases, and form leaf spots. It is a ...

''), basal culm rot (''

Fusarium ''Fusarium'' is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the soil mi ...

''), culm sheath rot (''

Glomerella cingulata ''Glomerella cingulata'' is a fungal plant pathogen, being the name of the sexual stage (teleomorph) while the more commonly referred to asexual stage (anamorph) is called '' Colletotrichum gloeosporioides''. For most of this article the pathoge ...

''), leaf rust ('' Kweilingia divina''), and leaf spots ('' Dactylaria''). In Bangladesh, bamboo blight caused by '' Sarocladium oryzae'' is a serious disease.

Uses

Common bamboo has a wide variety of uses, including the stems used as fuel and the leaves used as fodder, though a large amount of ingestion of leaves is known to cause neurological disorder among horses. The worldwide production and trade of ''B. vulgaris'' is considerable, though no statistics are available. It also has some disadvantages. Working and

machining Machining is a process in which a material (often metal) is cut to a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The processes that have this common theme are collectively called subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes ...

properties of the stems are poor, as they are not straight, not easy to split, and not flexible, but they are thick-walled and initially strong. Because of high carbohydrate content, stems are susceptible to attacks from fungi and insects such as

powderpost beetle Powderpost beetles are a group of seventy species of woodboring beetles classified in the insect subfamily Lyctinae. These beetles, along with spider beetles, death watch beetles, common furniture beetles, skin beetles, and others, make up the ...

s. Protection from biological threats is essential for long-term use. ''B. v.'' var. ''striata'' is used as ornamental solitary or as border hedge. Its shoots boiled in water are sometimes used for medicinal qualities. Cultivated around the world, it is generally found in East, Southeast, and South Asia. ''B. v.'' f. ''waminii'' is cultivated in the US and Europe in addition to Asia. ''B. v.'' f. ''vittata'' is the most popular variety as an ornamental plant, and is considered to be very beautiful. The 'Kimmei' cultivar is mostly cultivated in Japan.

Ornamental

It is widely used as an ornamental plant, and is very popular as that.Ernest Braunton, ''The Garden Beautiful in California'', page 50, Applewood Books, 2008, It often is planted as fences and border hedges.Najma Dharani, ''Field guide to common trees & shrubs of East Africa'', page 198, Struik, 2002, It is also planted a measure for

Construction

The stems or culms of ''B. vulgaris'' are used for fencing and construction, especially of small, temporary shelters, including flooring, roof tiles, panelling, and walls made wither with culms or split stems. The culm is used to make many parts of boats including masts, rudders, outriggers, and boating poles. It also is used to make furniture, basketry, windbreakers, flutes, fishing rods, tool handles, stakes, weapons, bows for fishing nets, smoking pipes, irrigation pipes, distillation pipes, and more. It is used as raw material for

paper pulp Pulp is a Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rags. Mixed with water and other chemica ...

, especially in India. Paper made from ''B. vulgaris'' has exceptional

tear strength Tear resistance (or tear strength) is a measure of how well a material can withstand the effects of tearing. It is a useful engineering measurement for a wide variety of materials by many different test methods. Discussion For example, with ru ...

, comparable to paper made of

softwood Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the s ...

. It can also be used to make particle boards and flexible packaging grade paper.

Food

Young shoots of the plant, cooked or pickled, are edible and eaten throughout Asia. Yellow shoots remain buttercup yellow after cooking. A

decoction Decoction is a method of extraction by boiling herbal or plant material (which may include stems, roots, bark and rhizomes) to dissolve the chemicals of the material. It is the most common preparation method in various herbal-medicine systems. Dec ...

of the growing tips is mixed with

Job's tears Job's tears (''Coix lacryma-jobi)'', also known as Adlay or Adlay millet, is a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family). It is native to Southeast Asia and introduced to Northern China and India in remote ...

(''Coix lacryma-jobi'') to make a refreshing drink in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

. The shoots are tender and whitish pink, and have a fair

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, althoug ...

quality. A serving of young shoots of green-stem

s has 90 g of water, 2.6 g of protein, 4.1 g of fat, 0.4 g of digestible carbohydrates, 1.1 g of insoluble

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by t ...

, 22.8 mg of calcium, 37 mg of phosphorus, 1.1 mg of iron, and 3.1 mg of

ascorbic acid Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...

. A serving of young shoots of yellow-stem cultivars has 88 g of water, 1.8 g of protein, 7.2 g of fat, 0.0 g of digestible carbohydrates, 1.2 grams of insoluble fiber, 28.6 mg of calcium, 27.5 mg of phosphorus, and 1.4 mg of iron.

Indigenous medicine

Golden bamboo is considered in many traditions across Asia to have medicinal value. Many uses are found in

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedie ...

, though the effects are not clinically proven. In Java, water stored in golden bamboo tubes is used as a cure of various diseases. In the Congo, its leaves are used as part of a treatment against

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

; in Nigeria, an infusion of macerated leaves is taken against

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and or ...

s and as an

abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

– the latter has been shown to work in rabbits.

Cultivation

Though not suited for small yards, as it grows in large clumps, young plants of golden bamboo can be grown in large containers.Arthur Van Langenberg and Ip Kung Sau, ''Urban gardening: a Hong Kong gardener's journal'', page 38, Chinese University Press, 2006, Golden bamboo grows well in full sunlight or partial shade. Protection is important, as animals often graze on young shoots. In Tanzania, management of ''B. vulgaris'' cultivation entails clearing of the ground around clumps.

Toxicity

Among all bamboos, only shoots of ''B. vulgaris'' contains taxiphyllin (a cyanogenic glycoside) that functions as an

enzyme inhibitor An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and blocks its activity. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions necessary for life, in which substrate molecules are converted into products. An enzyme facilitates a ...

in the human body when released, but degrades readily in boiling water. It is highly toxic, and the lethal dose for humans is about 50–60 mg. A dose of 25 mg cyanogenic glycoside fed to rats (100–120 g body weight) caused clinical signs of toxicity, including apnoea,

ataxia Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of ...

, and

paresis In medicine, paresis () is a condition typified by a weakness of voluntary movement, or by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it can also be used to desc ...

. Horses in

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

, were diagnosed with clinical signs of

somnolence Somnolence (alternatively sleepiness or drowsiness) is a state of strong desire for sleep, or sleeping for unusually long periods (compare hypersomnia). It has distinct meanings and causes. It can refer to the usual state preceding falling asleep ...

and severe ataxia after ingesting ''B. vulgaris''.Franklin Riet-Correa, ''Poisoning by Plants, Mycotoxins and Related Toxins'', page 292, CABI, 2011, Farmers in Africa sometimes prefer to buy it rather than plant it, as they believe it harms the soil.Karen Ann Dvořák, ''Social science research for agricultural technology development'', page 175, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), 1993,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3219428 vulgaris Flora of Yunnan Flora of Indo-China Plants described in 1808 Garden plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Asia Plants used in traditional African medicine to:Pitu

Description

Taxonomy

Cultivars

Distribution and habitat

Ecology

Pests

Uses

Ornamental

Construction

Food

Indigenous medicine

Cultivation

Toxicity

See also

References