''Phyllostachys bambusoides'', commonly called , giant timber bamboo, or Japanese timber bamboo, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

subfamily of the grass family

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

, native to China, and possibly also to Japan.

Description

''Phyllostachys bambusoides'' is a "running" (monopodial type) evergreen bamboo which can reach a height of roughly and a diameter of . The culms are dark green, with a thin wall that thickens with maturity, and very straight, with long internodes and two distinctive rings at the node. The species is thin-skinned, easily split lengthwise, has long fibres, and is strong and highly flexible, even when split finely. Leaves are dark green, and the sheaths are strong and hairless. New stalks emerge in late spring and grow at a rate of up to a day; one specimen produced culms growing a remarkable in 24 hours. The flowering interval of this species is very long, lasting roughly 120 years.

Uses

In Asia, ''Phyllostachys bambusoides'', known in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

as , is one of the preferred bamboos for construction and furniture manufacture. Its properties also make it useful in a number of traditional Japanese arts and crafts: * Both and '' Phyllostachys edulis'' (known in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

as ) are used in the making of flutes * The hairless and flexible sheaths of - known as or - make it apt for wrapping food, and in the production of woodblock printing tools. * The uniform, plain-colour sheaths of the variety were traditionally used to weave the coverings of some

geta Geta may refer to: Places *Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region *Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland *Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal *Get� ...

, a covering known as ; however, in modern times, the variety used is a different and unknown species, grown in China and bleached to be plain in colour. * The long internodes and equally long fibres of the bamboo make it ideal for traditional basket-weaving and the production of fans. ''Phyllostachys bambusoides'' is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate zones worldwide, with numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s being available. Some grow to extreme lengths and heights, making them typically only suitable for parks and large gardens; however, more compact cultivars are available. The following cultivars are recipients of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

: * 'Castillonii' – yellow canes, * 'Holochrysa' – rich yellow canes,

Gallery

File:Phyllostachys bambusoides 'Violascens' - Bambus.JPG, ''P. bambusoides'' 'Violascens' File:Phyllostachys bambusoides holochrysa.jpg, ''P. bambusoides'' 'Holochrysa' File:Poaceae - Phyllostachis bambusoides-001.JPG, Branch of ''P. bambusoides'' File:Phyllostachys bambusoides f castillonis1.jpg, Leaf of P. bambusoides'' f ''castillonis''

References

Bamboo Garden

External links

** {{Taxonbar, from=Q28933428 bambusoides Flora of China Flora of Japan Flora of Korea