3AM

Ni THE UNITED

BOO

STATES:

îscription, Culture, and Utilization

ulture Handbook No. 193 I U.S. DEPARTMENT, OÍ AGRICULTURE^f
Agriculture Handbook No. 193

BAMBOO

IN THE UNITED STATES:

Description, Culture, and Utilization

By Robert A. Young and Joseph R. Hawv,

with key to the genera hyF.A. McClure

rXITET) STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service

Washington. D.C. Issued June 19C1

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington 25, D.C. Price 35 cents

/
TÍIE gradually increasing interest in bamboo among American

farmers, gardeners, and connnercial users has made it desirable

to bring together the essential information available concerning the

types of bamboo that give most promise of value in the United States

as sources of economic products or as ornamentals. Bamboo is so

different in character, habits of growth, and culture from any other

crop plant with whicli the American agriculturist is acquainted that

it is necessary to provide a detailed description of the unique nature

of bamboo as a basis for its utilization in agriculture. Brief mention

is made of the two native bamboos of the southeastern United States,

and a more detailed description of the important species of hardy

oriental and of some tropical kinds that have been introduced into

cultivation during the past 75 years is given. Infonnation on the

propagation, culture, and utilization of bamboos is given.

Growth Through Agrrcultural Progress
Contents

Page

NATURE OF BAMBOO GROWTH 3

TYPES OF BAMBOO—RUNNING AND CLUMP 8

GENERIC KEY TO BAMBOOS UNDER CULTIVATION IN THE

UNITED STATES AND PUERTO RICO 12

HARDY RUNNING BAMBOOS 14

Running bamboos of present importance for cultivation in the United

States 18

Descriptions of important species of running; bamboos 18

Other running bamboos in cultivation 33

Propagation of running bamboos 34

TROPICAL, CLUMP-TYPE BAMBOOS 36

Descriptions of important species of clump-type bamboos 36

Other clump-type bamboos in cultivation 49

Propagation of clump-type bamboos 50

CULTURAL INFORMATION 51

HARVESTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO FOR MARKET 53

Removal of branches 54

Straightening or bending of culms 54

Drying, or curing 55

An oriental method of surface finishing 55

BAMBOO PESTS 55

Bamboo diseases 56

Bamboo smut 56

Baml 100 rust 57

Melanconium culm disease 57

Insect pests of living bamboo 58

Bamboo scales 58

Long-tailed mealybug 60

Bamboo aphids 60

Leaf-rolling caterpillar 61

Roundheaded prionid beetle 61

Common bamboo mite 61

Bamboo sheath mite 61

Insect pests of harvested bamboo 62

Bamboo powder-post beetles 62

Lyctus powder-post beetles 63

UTILIZATION OF BAMBOO 64

Farm and home uses 65

Ornamental uses 66

Food 70

Furniture, interior decoration, and other manufactured items 72

Paper pulp 73

LITERATURE CITED 74

:iii
BAMBOO

IN THE UNITED STATES:

Description, Culture, and Utilization^

By ROBERT A. Yor.\i;, colliihintitor, and JOSEPH R. HAIX, liiirticiiltiirist

Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service U.S. Departiueut of

Agriculture"

with key to genera by F. A. MCCHKE. Iioiionirii rcKidn-li tisNocintc, Smithsonian

Institution, and (jnintcc, U.S. National Science Foundation

Tlie bamboos are woody stemmed perennial grasses, usually evergreen in climates to which they are adapted; those of temperate regions renew their leaves in spring. Bamboos constitute the subfamily

Bambusoideae of the grass family, Poaceae (Gramineae). Among the

700 or more species, the aerial stems, or culnis,^ range in mature heights

from a foot or two to 100 feet or more (figs. 1 and 2). The culms,

FIGURE 1.—A clump, 2 feet high, of Arundinaria variegata, a low-growing

hardy running bamboo with white-striped leaves. Roots are curbed to

prevent spreading.

' Discussion includes some bamboos grown in the Canal Zone and Puerto Rico.

The authors «ratefully aclsnowledge invaluable assistance from Agnes Chase, of the

Smithsonian Institution, and Paul G. Russell and the late David A. Bis.set and Sidney

P. Blake, of the Crops Research Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

'The aerial stems of all grasses, including bamboos, are technically called culms,

whether large or small.
2 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 2.— A i lump, 75 feet high, of Bambusa ariindinacea, the great thorny

bamboo of India, in southern Florida. It was later killed in an exceptional freeze.

like those of many ordinary grasses, usually are hollow bet^Yeen the

nodes, or "joints," but in a few bamboos some or all of the internodes

are more or less ñlled with a softer wood. The wood is always hardest near the surface of the culm and contains increasing amounts of

pith between the wood fibers toward the inside. Some tropical bamboos have vinelike climbing stems, and others are thorny.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 3

Many bamboos are of <>reat economic value, and some are amonf;; the

most graceful and beautiful of all plants. With their diversity in

size, wide range in cold endurance, and varying habits of growth,

they are valuable ornamentals in the milder parts of the temperate

zones as well as in tropical and subtropical regions. Bamboos serve

innumerable economic uses in the countries in which they grow; they

serve more uses for more people tlian any other group of plants in the

world. The uses include shelter and other structures of all kinds, implements, weapons, utensils, artwork, clothing, paper, and food.

In the United States, where only two species of bamboo occur

naturally, most people have been familiar with bamboo chiefly in its

traditional uses for Ashing poles (including split rods), rug poles,

plant stakes, and, in earlier years, phonograph needles. Only in very

limited areas, mostly in the milder parts of the country, has there

Ijeen real recognition of the decorative value of living bamboo. During World War II, because of shortages of industrial materials and

in consequence of the observations and experiences of members of the

armed services in the Tropics and the Orient, the possibilities of

wider utilization of bamboo in Western industry were explored.

The rare flowering of most bamboos and the consequent difficulty in

the past of properly classifying and naming many of them has resulted in much confusion in names, both in nursery catalogs and in

other bamboo literature. One of the objectives of this handbook is

the elimination of uncertainties with respect to the names of some of

the better known or more important exotic bamboos now being grown

in the United States.

NATURE OF BAMBOO GROWTH

Bamboos, like perennial grasses generally and many other plants,

are colonial in their habits of growth; that is, all culms are connected

by rhizomes with other culms. A bamboo plant consists of two somewhat distinct parts: (1) The aboveground jointed culm, with its

root-bearing base, branches, and leaves; and (2) the underground

jointed rhizome (fig. 3) from which the culm arises. The rhizome

also bears true roots at its nodes. Bamboo leaves are easily distinguished from those of other grasses as the blade is narrowed into a

short slender petiole at its base instead of encircling the stem as in

corn (maize) and other cereal-crop plants; they are borne on

branches or twigs, not on the culm itself except at the very tip. A

single bamboo plant, whether grown from seed or from a vegetative

division, has at first only one culm ; but in each succeeding year one

or more new culms come from below the soil surface.
4 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

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FIGURE 3.—Sprouts of the giant running bamboo Phyllostachys pnbescens

(P. edtdis) : A, Sprouts just beyond the bud stage on rhizome, taken in

midwinter; B, a large shoot emerging from the ground in midspring; C, a

large shoot split open to show nature of the nodal diaphragms and relation of the shoot to its rhizome. (Approximately one-third natural size.)

The culm sheaths (fig. 4), one at each node of the young growing

culm, are conspicuous structures of the bamboo culm. In all bamboos

the sheaths carry distinctive characters that are botli convenient and
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES

PN-972

FIGURE 4.—Upper section of a large culm sheath of the tropical, clump-type

bamboo Bambusa vidgaris showing one type of the structures that are

important in classification and in identification of all bamboos: a. Sheath

proper; b, sheath blade; c, ligule; d, pair of auricles (slightly unequal),

with fringe of bristles on margins. (Two-thirds natural size.)

essential for identification. These characters, when fully recognized,

make identification comparatively easy and sure. For this reason,

especially if more than one kind of bamboo is being grown, a grower

should give some attention to the differences in appearance between

the sheaths of the different kinds. In relation to the points of origin

on the culm, the complete sheath is considered as a specialized leaf,

in which the sheath prosier, attached to and encircling the node, is

greatly enlarged and otherwise specialized ; the blades of the lowest

sheaths are reduced to mere scales but those of sheaths higher on the

culm gradually are more leaflike. More details of the culm sheaths are

given under descriptions of bamboo species.

The precise mode of development of the bamboo plant, including

the branching habit of the culm, varies widely among the different

species. All baml^oos, however, are alike in several important respects: (1) The new culms that appear every year are formed mainly

from food material stored in the rhizomes and roots of the plants;

(2) the culms complete their growth in height and diameter in a relatively short period—5 to 8 weeks—except for some of the larger

tropical species, Avhich may require up to 3 or -i months; (3) the

574764°—61 2
6 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

shoot for a new culm always comes up witli the same diameter at its

base that it will have when full height is reached, much as does an

asparagus shoot; and (4) the wood of the new culms, at first soft and

full of sap, does not attain its maximum density and strengtli until

the end of the third growing season. The culm never increases in

height or diameter after its initial growth in height is completed; but

the new culms that come up in a new planting in each succeeding

year usually will be taller and thicker than those of the preceding

season, until the maximum size possible under the conditions is attained. Because of the rapid growth of the individual culms, almost

entirely from stored food material, the production of large culms depends upon the pre\'ious development of an extensive connected system of the underground storage organs—rhizomes and roots.

Bamboo flowers are small and inconspicuous and are formed in

variously shaped clusters (fig. 5) resembling those of many ordinary

grasses. The flowering of bamboo is of practical importance to groAVers, for in most species flowering occurs only after many years of

growth, and, when a heavy crop of seed is set, the entire plant usually

dies. All vegetative propagations from any single bamboo seedling,

wherever grown, usually flower at approximately the same time.

"When flowering of a bamboo of the hardy, running type is profuse,

even though little or no seed is formed—which often is the case—

the plants make but little new growth, leaf formation practically

ceases, and it frequently takes at least 3 to 5 years for the plants to

recover sufficiently to resume production of culms of marketable size.

These statements, however, hold true only if the original planting

stock was all from the same seedling source. If some of the planting

units were of one or more other seedling origins, such plants presumably will have different flowering periods. A few bamboo species

flower rather sparingly, and in these there usually is no serious interruption to vegetative growth. A bamboo of the tropical, clump type

that flowers completely with entire suppression of leaf formation,

usually soon dies even when little seed is set. Therefore, a commercial grower of bamboo may well feel concern when a grove is ob-

.served to be producing flowers. For bamboos now in cultivation,

however, it is not at present possible to predict when they may flower.

Several species of medium-sized and giant species of the hardy running type introduced from the Orient between 1890 and 1909 had not

yet flowered in 1960.

The seed varies greatly in size, shape, and other characters among

the different sections of the bamboo group, but in nearly all the

species under consideration the "seed" is technically called a grooved

caryopsis and somewhat resembles a grain of wheat, rye, or other

similar cereal (fig. 6).
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES

B

PN-973 PN-974

PN-975 PN-976

FIGURE 5.—Flowering branches from four genera of bamboos: A, Dcndrocalamus strictus; B, Bambusa arundinacea; C, Arundinaria simonii; and

D, Phyllostachys niyra.
8 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 6.—Seeds in the hull and cleaned seeds of a hardy bamboo, Phyllostachys a urea, grown near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Slightly

enlarged.)

TYPES OF BAMBOO—RUNNING AND CLUMP

Bamboos are of two general types, already alluded to briefly, with

reference especially to their habits of rhizome growth. One type is

termed "running," or leptoniorph, and refers to the lengthy and relatively slender extension of the rliizome system (fig. 3). The other is

termed "clump-forming," cespitóse, or pachymorph, and refers to the

close spacing of the culms and to the much slower extension of the

relatively thick rhizomes (fig. 7), except in the genus Melocanna.

Both types are represented among the species adapted for cultivation

in parts of the Lower South and the Southwest. Persons living in

a mdd-wintered region, therefore, who wish to consider growing

l)amboo and who are not already familiar with the two types, should

first acquaint themselves with the principal ditïerences in growth

habits and the climatic requirements of the available species.

As already stated, the protecting culm sheaths that enclose the

fresh bamboo shoots usually are distinctive even between closely related species and exhibit important characters useful for identification. They gradually change in size, shape, and other details from

base to apex of the culm. A slieath from al)out tlie eighth node above

the base of a culm exhibits the distinguisliing characters at their best.

In the genus Phyllosfnchys. all but tlie lower sheaths fall by the time

the culm has completed its growtli in lieight ; but in others sheath fall
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES

PN-978 PN-979

FIGURE 7.—Views of modes of origin of bamboo culms: A, New culm (2 inches

in diameter) of clump-type bamboo Bambusa tuldoides, with basal

sheaths attached, grown from base of an earlier culm (now removed),

with two horizontal rhizomes beginning to turn upward to develop into

culms. B, Base of large culm (4 inches in diameter) of the giant hardy

running bamboo Phyllostachys bambitsoides; note roots growing from its

base and from the rhizome from which the culm grew.

usually is more or less delayed. The complete sheath consists of:

(1) The sheath proper, encircling the shoot, or culm; (2) the sheath

blade, more or less leaflike except on sheaths near base of culm, attached on the outer side of the sheath close to its apex; and (3) the

ligule, an upward projection, often slight, terminating the sheath

proper on the inner side of the blade; the ligule may or may not be

fringed with hairs, and the length of the upward projection and other

details are variable among species. (See fig. 4.) A hand lens often

is needed to examine the ligiüe. A pair of "auricles," more or less

prominent, is present at the base of the sheath blade in most species;

they usually are fringed with hairs (bristles, or oral setae).

The hardier bamboos are all of the running, or rapid-spreading,

type and, with few exceptions, they withstand minimum temperatures ranging from about 10° F. down to —7°, with but little injury

even to the leaves. The young shoots appear during spring. The

leaves of all these running bamboos, when viewed under a hand lens,

differ strikingly from those of the tropical, clump type in having

numerous cross veins between the finest of the parallel veins. This

is called tessellated venation. In this group are all the hardy timber

bamboos of China and Japan, which are the only ones that have

proved adapted to nnich of the southeastern quarter of the United

States and most of the Pacific coast region (fig. 8). Along the Atlantic coast, a few of the hardiest kinds endure ordinary winters as

far north as Philadelphia, Pa., with little injury.
10 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

The extent of injury to any bamboo at a given minimum temperature varies somewhat with the exposure to bright sunlight or to higli

winds at the time. Some of the hardy running bamboos have shown

partial adaptability to tropical regions at altitudes near 1,000 feet or

higher. PhyJlostachys avrea (Carr.) A. & C. Riv. and P. bnmhusoides Sieb. & Zuce, have been reported as apparently doing well in

Hawaii at about 800 feet above sea level. However, the quality of

wood of the culms of cold-hardy bamboos growing in tropical latitudes is reported to be inferior. The running bamboos are not suitable for growing near buildings or where space is otherwise much

limited, though a few spread more slowly than others.

There are two recognized species of running bamboo native to the

United States—Arundinat-ia gigantea (Walt.) Chapm. {A. macrosperma), the canebrake bamboo or southerncane, rarely reaching a

height of 30 feet, and the much smaller A. tecta (Walt.) Muhl. A

deciduous form, ^4. tecta var. deeidua C D. Beadle, is found in western

North Carolina including the vicinity of Biltmore and Asheville.

Several otlier somewhat distinct geographical forms that have been

included in .4. tecta liave been reported in earlier years from various

localities in the Southeastern States by the late Mr. Beadle It is possible that one or more of these on further study may be found entitled

to separate botanical status. The culms of A. gigantea are rather thin

walled but are used locally for fishing poles and some other ¡purposes.

Neither of the native species is of further economic importance except

possibly for grazing by livestock.

FIGURE 8.—Map showing areas where the hardy running bamboos can be

grown, if moisture is available and altitude is not too great.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 11

Bamboos of the clump type are all of tropical or subtropical ori^jiíi,

and most are killed back to the o;round or severely injured by even a

few degrees of frost. Several species, however, endure temperatui-es

ranging from 26° down to about 16° F., with only minor injury. The

oriental hedge bamboo, Bamhusa multiplex (Lour.) Raeusch. {B.

mm), is one of the hardiest of these. Resides the typical form of the

species, several horticultural varieties, or cultivars,' (Alphonse Karr,

Fernleaf, Silverstripe, etc.) have long been grown in the South Atlantic and Gulf States and in the milder parts of California and the

Southwest where adequate moisture is present. The northern limit

on the Atlantic coast for the hardiest of these varieties is at about

Charleston, S. C, and in severe winters they suffer cold injury there.

In California, these hardy varieties can be grown in many localities

near the coast and in the interior valleys wherever moisture is adequate and the minimum temperature does not fall below 16° F. except

at intervals of many years (fig. 9).

The clump bamboos are less objectionable than are those of the

running type for growing in limited spaces, as near buildings. However, the true roots will extend out as far as 25 feet from a mature

clump and will take both moisture and fertility from the soil to that

distance. None of the clump bamboos that are climatically adapted

to any part of the mainland of the United States are at present considered promising for cultivation here for industrial uses.

FIGURE 9.—Map showing areas where the more cold-resistant, tropical, clumptype bamboos can be grown, if moisture is available and altitude is not too

great.
12 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

GENERIC KEY TO BAMBOOS UNDER CULTIVATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND PUERTO

RICO

As currently classified in taxonomic literature,* the bamboos known

to be under culti\-ation in the ITnited States represent 21 genera. The

following key indicates tlie characteristic features by which these

genera may be distinguished. The classification of many of these

genera still rests, however, on tenuous and uneven criteria. Some of

the generic concepts were originally based wholly or largely on

characters of their rarely available flowers and fruits. Other genera

were segregated wholly on the basis of vegetative characters.

The following key is based on vegetative characters as far as is

possible at present. However, it has been necessary to rely upon

characters of the reproductive organs for differentiating certain

genera. This necessity reflects the uneven characterization of genera

that still prevails. With the present lack of popular knowledge of

the bamboos, the identification of many kinds must still be left to the

specialist.

la. Rhizomes pachymorph, i.e., the rhizome proper short, thicker than the

culm that emerges from its tip, and not "running."

2a. Rhizome neck much longer than the rhizome proper; clump habit

(lumetose, i.e., with widely spaced culms; midculm branches

slender, subeqnal MELOCANNA.

2b. Rhizome neck shorter than the rhizome proper ; clump habit caespitose, i.e., with culms rather close together.

3a. Inflorescence of indeterminate growth, i.e., the spikelet-like

ultimate branches (typical prophyllate pseudospikelets)

clothed basally with small, overlapping amplectant bracts,

the bracts subtending buds that continue for some time to

produce other branches (pseudospikelets) ; stamens 6; transverse veinlets of leaf blades not visible or only weakly

manifest.

4a. Branches at midculm nodes all slender, subequal.

Culm sheath proper and sheath blade conspicuously thickened, hard, and brittle ; the auricles of the culm sheath

prominently developed ; styles bearing 2 stigmas.

CEPIIALOSTACHYUM.

Culm sheath proper and sheath blade not conspicuously

thickened or indurated ; the auricles of the culm sheath

not prominently deveh)ped ; styles bearing 3 stigmas.

SCHIZOSTACHYUM.

4b. Branches at midculm nodes very unequal, the primary (middle) one iu each complement more or less strongly

dominant.

5a. Culms weak, clambering, not self-supporting, the midculm internodes very long and very thin-walled,

* Owins to the still tenuous hases of their seffregation as genera—Sasamorpha (from

Sasa) and Pleioblastus (from Arundinaria) —the names Sasamorpha and Pleioblastus have

not yet been accepted for general use in the United States.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 13

fragile and easily erushed ; spikelets typically with a

single perfect flower.

Spikelets pedicellate, the lemmas and paleas hiosely

convolute; fruit sulcate, the pericarp moderately

thickened at the very apex only, the apex crowned

by the pubescent, rather frajjile, base of the style.

ELYTKOSTACHYS.

Spikelets not pedicellate, the lemmas and paleas tightly

convolute; fruit not sulcate, the pericarp greatly

thickened and indurascent throughout, the aiiex narrowed and prolonged in a tapered jiersistent, ghibrous

beak OCHLANDUA.

5b. Culms self-supporting, not clambering, the midculm internodes not consjiicuously elongate, the walls not

fragile or easily crushed.

6a. Racbilla segments very short, not disarticulating.

Spikelets few-flowered, the terminal floret of each

spikelet usually well developed, perfect : stamen

filaments free DENDROCALAMUS.

Spikelets several-flowered, the terminal floret of

each spikelet rudimentary ; stamen fllameuts

fused or connected by a mend)rane__GlGANTOcuLOA.

6b. Racbilla segments elongate—up to half the length

of the lenmia—promptly or tardily disarticulating.

Keels of ]ialea winged GUADUA.

Keels of palea not winged BAirnus.\.

3b. Inflorescence of determinate growth, i.e., emerging complete,

the ultimate branches not typical pseudospikelets. and not continuing to branch: spikelets pedicellate; stamens .3; transverse veinlets of leaf blades clearly manifest (obscure in

Thamnocalamux faJconeri).

Lower branches of the inflorescence prophyllate. each subtended by a conspicuous bract THAMNOCALAMUS.

Lower branches of inflorescence not prophyllate. not subtended

by a conspicuous bract SINARUNDINAUIA.

lb. Rhizomes leptomori)b. i.e.. the rhizome proper long, "running." generally

more slender than the culms that arise from its lateral buds.

7a. Inflorescence of indeterminate growth, the ultimate branches prophyllate pseudospikelets terminating in nonpedicellate siiikelets.

8a. Internodes of rhizipuies, culms, and branches each strongly

flattened or channeled throughout its length on one side—•

above the point of insertion of a bud or branch complement.

Branches at niidnilm nodes typically in pairs, robust, slightly

unequal ; occasionally with a small, third one developed

between them PHYLLOSTACUYS.

Branches at midculm nodes typically 3 to 5 in each complement,

.slender, very short, subequal SIIIBAïAEA.

8b. Internodes of rhizomes, culms, and branches cylindrical or

nearly so.

Culm sheaths fugacious, abscissing completely ; auricles and

oral setae typically very prominentl.v developed (but .sometimes lacking entirely) on culm slieaths; bracts at the ba.se

of pseudospikelets smaller than the lemmas, without lea fl ike

apical appendage SINOBAMBUSA.

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14 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Culm sheaths abscissing promptly but incompletely, remaining

liRhtly attaohed at the middle of the base for a .short time

after they dry; auricles and oral setae lacking on culm

sheaths; bracts at the base of pseudospikelets larger than

the lemmas, often bearing a small leaflike apical appendage SERriAKUNDINAKIA.

7b. Inflorescence of determinate growth, the ultimate branches terminating in pedicellate spikelets.

9a. Branches typically solitary at midculm nodes.

10a. Culm nodes more or less prominently inflated above the

sheath scar; culms commonly tillering, usually ascending, not strictly erect ; oral setae of leaf sheaths

scabrous ; stamens 6 in each flower SASA.

10b. Culm nodes not prominently swollen above the sheath

scar; culms normally not tillering, more or less

strictly erect.

Oral setae wholly lacking in leaf sheaths; stamens 6

in each flower Sasamorpha."

Oral setae of leaf sheaths few or none, glabrous ; stamens .3 (rarely 4 or 5) in each flower PSEUDOSASA.

9b. Branches typically more than one at each midculm node;

stamens 3 in each flower.

11a. Culm sheath blade minute; rapid growth of shoots

(new culms) initiated in autumn or late summer CHIMONOBAMBUSA.

111). Culm sheath blade well developed ; rapid growth of

shoots (new culms) initiated in spring to early summer.

Oral setae of leaf sheath scabrous ARUNDINARIA.

Oral setae of leaf sheath glabrous Pleioblastus.^

HARDY RUNNING BAMBOOS

In the running, or leptomorpli, bamboos, to which all the hardier

kinds belong, the new culms usually appear above ground in midspring, at varying space intervals. A more or less open thicket is

produced and, with the giant species, eventually a forest (fig. 10).

The culms arise from lateral buds on underground rhizomes. These

buds slowly develop during warm periods through the winter, then

more rapidly as spring advances. The most rapid growth of the new

culm usually occurs when it has attained about one-half of its ultimate height. With a giant species, a culm 4 inches or more in diameter has been known to increase in height as much as 36 inches in

24 hours in hot moist weather during its period of most rapid

growth. As previously seated, the culms complete their external

growth in 5 to 8 weeks, though the wood is at first soft and does not

become mature in density and hardness until the end of the third

growing season. This latter fact makes necessary the marking in a

permanent manner of each culm of a producing bamboo grove with

^ Sec footnote 4, p. 12.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 15

the year of its emergence if the culms are to be used for :iuy purpose

requiring strengtli and durability. See page 53.

"With completion of the vertical extension of the culms, usually in

June, new branch rhizomes begin to develop and, in a well-established

FIGURE 10.—Plot of a giant hardy running bamboo, Phyllostachys viridis (P.

sttlphnrea var. viridis), 30 feet across, at the U.S. Plant Introduction

Station near Savannah, Ga. Tallest culms here are about 43 feet high

and 3% inches in diameter near the base. The plot is kept within bounds

by breaking off new shoots that start in spring outside the set limits.
16 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

colony of a tall species of bamboo, may sometimes extend 15 to 25 feet

underground before the end of the season. These new rhizome

branches ordinarily come from lateral buds on rhizomes of the preceding year. In the important genus Phyllostaehys. especially, Avhich

comprises nearly all the economically important running bamboos,

the terminal bud of a rhizome usually dies before active growth begins in the following season; this results in the sprouting of one to

several lateral buds just back of the terminal (fig. 11). By repeated

rebranching the rhizomes grow in all directions if conditions are

favorable, and this liabit results in the development of the extensive

connected rhizome system essential for the ultimate production of

culms of maximal size for any given species. A rhizome system must

function as a unit, a single reservoir of food material, for the production of large culms.

Thus, in a planting of a running bamboo, as many separate and

distinct ramifying rhizome systems will develop, with their branches

crossing and intermingling, as there were of the original plants.

Even under the most favorable conditions of climate, soil, and moisture, the giant hardy bamboos produce their largest possible culms—

50 to 75 feet high—only after 12 to 15 years from the time of setting

of small plants. Some species of smaller stature maj- produce their

tallest culms in a shorter period. There are differences in vigor of

growth among closely related bamboos, even when the ultimate maximum heights are nearly the same.

The running bamboos of oriental origin already in cultivation in

this country belong to seven different genera—Phylfo.^fachy.^, ArundirMria, Semiarundinaría, Sa-sa, Pseudosasa, Chiwonohamhusa,

Shibataea, and Sinohamhiisa, in apjiroximate order of their importance. Most of these genera are fairly distinctive in growth habits.

The species of greater potential economic value are nearly all of the

large genus Phyllostachys, which comprises all the hardy giant bamboos of China and Japan and many medium-sized and smaller species.

Comprehensive descriptions and a key to the species of PhyUostachys

may be found-in U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 114(.^).

Two other oi'iental l^amboos. Arundinarîa amahilis McClure, obtained

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture direct from China, and A.

simonii (Carr.) Riv., introduced earlier by way of Europe, are also of

considerable potential importance. A. amahilis, known widely in the

trade as "tonkin cane," is imported in substantial quantities into this

country. This species is used especially for making split-bamboo fishing rods but also for vaulting and ski poles, plant stakes, and other

purposes. As already mentioned, the new shoots of these bamboos ap-
BAIVIBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 17

FIGURE 11.—New branch rhizomes of a running baml)oo, Pln/Uostachi/s

meyeri, developed from the buds immediately back of the dead tip of the

older rhizome. These are slightly larger in diameter than the parent

rhizome and have true roots arising from the nodes.
18 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

pear in spring. And those of the known species of Phyllostachys,

Arundinaria, Psendosasa, and Semiarundinaria are edible when

cooked; however, they are scarcely worth while for table use if under

1 inch in diameter. Shoots.of some species of PhyUostachys are bitter

or acrid when raw. Suggestions for preparation and cooking are given

under Utilization of Bamboo.

Running Bamboos of Present Importance for Cultivation

in the United States

More than 60 species and varieties of running bamboos of oriental

origin have been introduced into the United States. Of tliese, more

than lialf were first imported directly from C'liina or Japan after 1900

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and nearly all the remainder

by way of Europe by the Department or by private agencies. Two of

the giant species of Phyllostnchys, P. hamhiisoides Sieb. & Zuce, and

P. puhescem Mazel ex li. de Leh. {P. edulis), were successfully introduced from the Orient by private persons as early as about 1890, and

the medium-sized species P. aurea, by another in 1882. Pseudosam

japónica (Sieb. & Zuce.) Makino {Arundinaría japónica; Sasa japónica), Vi fairly hardy ornamental Japanese species growing 10 to 16 feet

high and rather widely established in cultivation here, is believed to

luxve been brouglit by way of Europe in the 1860"s. Although definite

record has not been fomid of the successful introduction of other liardy

bamboos earlier than 1900 it is probable that some were introduced but

did not become generally distributed.

All of the many introduced bamboos now in this country liave some

potential economic or ornamental value, but some are outstanding; detailed descriptions are given here of those that are considered to be of

greater importance for one or more reasons, such as uses, large size, or

extent of present distribution in the country. The other species are

listed with api)roximate heiglits only.

The largest hardy running bamboos are all members of the genus

Phyllofitachys. Several kinds that reach truly giant heights (50 to 70

or more feet) at full maturity and that are already established in cultivation here are : P. hambusoides Sieb. & Zuce, P. nigra (Lodd.) INIunro

cv. HEXON ÄlcClure {P. nigra var. henonis), P. pubescens Mazel ex H.

de Leh. {P. eduli.s), P. viridis (Young) IMcClure (P. sulphurea var.

vindis), and P. vivax McClure.

Descriptions of Important Species of Running Bamboos

Arundinaria amabilis McClure.

TONKIN BAMBOO; TONKIN CANE.

Tonkin bamboo is a semihardy bamboo cultivated in a limited,

mountainous area in southern China. There, under favorable condi-
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 19

tions, culms are up to 40 feet high aiul 21/2 inches in diameter at the

base; they are cylindrical, straight, and with nonprominent nodes.

Tlie primary branch at each branch-bearing node usually gives rise

later to one or a few laterals from its base. Leaves, three to eight

near tip of branch or twig, are 4 to 14 inches long and V2 to li/^ inches

wide, smooth above, slightly rough beneath, and scabrous on both

margins.

New culm shoots appear in midspring. Culms are moderately

thick walled and tough and strong at full maturity (3 years old).

Small mature culms are extensively utilized for florists' plant stakes

and other purposes. Large ones have special uses such as vaulting

and ski poles and particularly for making split-bamboo fishing rods,

for which they are preferred to any other bamboo.

Tonkin bamboo has withstood a temperature of 13° F. without

loss of leaves, and the culms are reported to have survived 8° with

no apparent injury. This species is adapted climatically to the gulf

region, the Atlantic coast probably as far north as AVihnington, N.C.,

and most of the Pacific coast.

Arundinaria simonii (Carr.) A. & C. Riv. {Pleiohlantufi ftimonli).

SiMOX BAMBOO.

Simon bamboo is a hardy bamboo, both useful and ornamental.

Culms are 18 to 24 feet high under favorable conditions, cylindrical,

up to 1% inches in diameter at the base, and with nonprominent

nodes. Branch-bearing nodes have a primary branch, followed by two

others arising quickly from its first two basal nodes, and later all

three usually rebranch from the base. Leaves, clustered two to four

at tips of branches or twigs, are narrow-oblong and 3 to 12 inches

long and % to 3^ inch wide. An occasional leaf may have one or

more slender white stripes, and in the cultivar 'Silverstripe' the

striping becomes extensive. The rhizomes are slower spreading than

in most running bamboos.

The young shoots appear in spring; though seldom thick enough

(o be important for food, these are edible and are free from acridity.

Culms of suitable size and mature age (3 years) are reported to be

excellent for fishing poles and for shuffleboard cues, as well as for

plant stakes. Qualities of wood of culms resemble those of tonkm

bamboo.

This species is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast possibly

as far north as Philadelphia, Pa., and the Pacific coast region where

temperatures as low as 0° F. do not occur oftener than every 3 or 4

years.
20 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Arundinaria variegata (Sieb.) Makino (Sasa variegata).

DWARF WHITESTRIPE BAMBOO.

Dwarf Whitestripe bamboo is a handsome little Japanese bamboo.

Culms are 2 to 3 feet high. Usually there is a single branch at one,

or sometimes two, of the nodes; but occasionally a secondary branch

arises from base of the primary. Leaves, usually clustered near tips

of culms and branches, are conspicuously whitestriped (fig. 1),

oblong-lanceolate, rounded at base, 2 to 6 inches long and up to 1 inch

wide, and finely pubescent beneath. Leaves and upper parts of

culms and branches usually die during the winter in cold climates,

but new branches form below; new culms and new leaves develop in

midspring.

This bamboo makes an attractive ground cover and is especially

effective in artificial clump form when the rliizomes are confined by

a metal or concrete curb sunk into the ground.

This species is adapted for growing on the Coastal Plain from the

gulf region to New York City and on the Pacific coast, with winter

mulch in northern areas. Growth usually is less satisfactory in the

more southern areas.

Arundinaria viridi-striata [Regel] Makino {Bamhum viridl-str'iata;

PlelobJiistus v'irkl/-str¡(ttuf<).

A. viridi-sfriata is an ornamental dwarf .Japanese bamboo. Culms

are IVi» to 21/0 feet high and usually bear a branch from one node during the first year and one or two more in the second year. Leaves

are lanceolate, 2 to 5 inches long, usually yellowish striped in spring

and early sunmier but mostly becoming plain green later, and nearly

smooth above and velvety pubescent beneath. The leaves tend to curl

in bright sunlight in sunnner; this attractive little bamboo is, therefore, best grown in partial shade.

This species can be grown on the Coastal Plain from the gulf to

Philadelphia, Pa., and on the Pacific coast. But it does not usually

make so good growth where sunnners are long as it does farther

north. A winter mulch is desirable in the north.

Phyllostachys aurea (Carr.) A. & C. Riv. [Bamhusa aurea).

FiSHPOLE BAMBOO.

Fishpole bamboo is a medium-sized hardy bamboo, native to China

but long cultivated also in Japan. This probably was the first species

of PliylJo^faclxyH to be successfully introduced into this country—in

1882 by Cxeorge H. Todd, a grower, at Montgomery, Ala. Culms are

up to 30 or more feet high; many-sometimes nearly one-half-have

one or more variously shortened internodes in the basal region or

higher, sometimes with nodes obliquely inclined, which occasionally
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 21

form attractive designs simulating a tortoise-sliell pattern. A pure

planting of P. aurea can be identified with ease and certainty by the

culms with these odd characters. Leaves, two or three on a twig, are

small—commonly 3 to 4i/^ inches long and y^ to % ^nc\\ wide. Culm

sheaths are smooth, pale olive-green to pale rosy-butf when fresh,

with a few small brown spots. Sheath blades are lance-shaped on

lowest sheaths, long strap-shaped on intermediate ones, and more

leaflike on highest ones. Ligules have a prominent fringe of hairs.

The new edible shoots, which appear in midspring, are nearly free

from acridity when raw. For many years large quantities of the

high-quality mature culms have been imported into the United States

for use as fishing poles. Selected culms with unusual patterns of

nodes and internodes make distinctive fishing poles and walking

sticks. The culms are useful also for light clothes poles, bean poles,

and plant stakes.

Fishpole bamboo withstands temperatures about down to 0° F.

This species is adapted to the entire southeastern Coastal Plain at

least as far north as Norfolk, Va., and to the Pacific coast except the

extreme south.

Phyllostachys aureosulcata McChue (earlier misidentified as P.

nevinii).

YELLOWGROO\T: BAMBOO.

Yellowgroove bamboo is a hardy bamboo from Chekiang Province,

China. Culms are up to 33 feet high and IV2 inches in diameter at

the base. Leaves, usually two or three on a twig, are up to 6 inches

long and to % inch wide on new culms but much smaller on older

ones. In early midspring the species is easily recognized by the palegreen culm sheaths with many slender whitish stripes, a pair of

prominent auricles at base of the lance-shaped sheath blade, and

sheath blades that are bristled except on sheaths near base of culm.

Further identifying characters are: (1) The greenish-yellow sulcus

on internodes (above branch attachments), in contrast to the green

of rounded parts of internodes, during the first year or two of the

life of a culm; (2) a slight roughness to the touch at first on the

internodes of new culms; and (3) occasional culms with a striking

zigzag growth involving two or three of the lower nodes and internodes, rarely seen in any other bamboo.

The new shoots, which appear in early midspring, are edible. Although the wood is not of highest quality, mature culms are useful

locally for fishing poles, clothes poles, plant stakes, and other similar

uses.

This species is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast perhaps as far north as Philadelphia, Pa., and most of the Pacific coast

to the Columbia River and possibly farther north.

574764°—61 4
22 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb. & Zuce. {P. quilioi; P. reticvlata).

MADAKE (Japiinese name) ; GIANT TIMBER BAMBOO;

JAPANESE TIMBER BAMBOO ; HARDY TIMBER BAMBOO.

Madake (pronounced mah-dah'kay) is one of the largest and most

valuable industrially of several giant hardy timber bamboos native

to China and is one of those that have long been cultivated also in

Japan. Its earliest introduction into the United States was probably around 1890. Culms are up to 72 feet or more high and 5%

inches in diameter at the base; internodes are at first glossy dark

green, and witliout any white powder. The two branches at each

branch-bearing node are unequal, the smaller arising from the base

of the larger; sometimes there is a third, still smaller, one. Leaves

are oblong, pointed, commonly 2i/^ to 6V2 inches long and I/2 to %

inch wide, and often slightly wavy. Culm sheaths are greenish to

buff or often reddish, lowest ones darker, all heavily spotted or

blotched with brown, and with surface almost free of hairs; auricles

and bristles on all but lowest six or eight sheaths. Sheath blades on

lower sheatiis are dark, short, lance-shaped, and often reflexed and

crinkled; but on higher sheaths the blades gradually become strapshaped and green or variously striped witli pink or buff.

The edible new shoots, which appear in late midspring, are somewhat acrid when raw. Shoots of medium and large diameters are in

demand in northern markets for oriental food products. The culms

are moderately thick walled, and those of mature age are rated among

the best in wood quality of the species of Phyllostachys. Because of

this, this species is preferred among the larger hardy bamboos for

construction and other industrial uses. The small and medium-sized

culms produced during the early years of a new plantation are suitable for plant stakes and bean, rug, and fishing poles. Split fishing

rods said to be of good quality also have been made experimentally

from split larger culms.

This important bamboo is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic

coast as far north as Norfolk, Va., and the Pacific coast from central

California northward where winter temperatures are cool but do not

go below 0° F.

Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb. & Zuce. cv. CASTILLON McClure

{P. bambusoides var. castlUonl; P. reticulata var. castilloni).

CASTILLON BAMBOO.

Castillon bamboo is a medium-sized strikingly ornamental variety

of P. bambusoides. This cultivar is of Chinese origin, but it was introduced into Japan at an early date and from there was brought
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 23

to France about 1886. In 1925 it was introduced from En<îland into

this country by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Uiter widely

distributed though it had been imported and established earlier by

Henry Xehrling at Gotlui, Fla. Heights of culm up to about 30 feet

have been recorded. Culms are bright yellow with a bright-green

longitudinal stripe or panel on the sulcus of internodes having

branches at their base; the rounded yellow sides of internodes are

sometimes narrowly streaked with green. The Castillon bamboo

differs little in external characters from the typical form of the

species except in its smaller stature, the bright-yellow color of the

rounded parts of the internodes of culms and branches, and the occasional cream pinstripes in some leaves.

The wood is perhaps a little less strong and the edible young shoots

have lighter colored culm sheaths and are somewhat less acrid than

the typical form. This attractive bamboo with its bright culms

striped with green is useful as an ornamental where space is not much

limited or in smaller spaces if a curb can be sunk into the ground to

coutine the running rhizomes.

This cultivar endui'es temperatures almost to 0° F. with damage

only to leaves. It is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast as

far north as Xorfolk, Va., and the Pacific coast about to the Columbia

River.

Phyllostachys dulcis McClure (earlier misidentified as P. henryi).

S^^^:ETSHOOT BAMBOO; Chinese name. PAH KOII POO CHI.

Sweetshoot bamboo is a hardy bamboo from Chekiang Province,

China. Culms are up to 40 feet high and 2%, inches in diameter at

the base, strongly tapered, and often strongly curved. The nodal

ridges are fairly prominent. Internodes ai"e dull green, often finely

striped with cream or ¡îaler green, surface strongly ribbed-striate, in

new culms at first with considerable loose whitish powder, especially

below nodes, and with more dense deposits of powder with age.

Leaves are usually ?A/i to 4 inches long and % to % inch wide, sometimes larger, and lower surface usually densely pubescent near base

and sometimes throughout. Culm sheaths are smooth, somewhat

glaucous, and greenish cream with small brown spots and streaks but

becoming pale straw color when dr}-; auricles at base of sheatli blade

are prominent and bristled; ligules are strongly convex. The lower

sheath blades are lance-shaped to strap-shaped, and those toward the

tip are boat-shaped, and all are strongly crinkled.

The new shoots are nonacrid, of excellent cooking quality, and

emerge in early spring. This is said to be one of the most highly

esteemed edible bamboos of central China, where it is called "vegetable bamboo." Culms are inferior in (juality to other bamboos for

industrial purposes where strength is required.
24 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Under favorable conditions this species may produce culms of

maximum size in 7 or 8 years, but it suffers from drought. It has

endured temperatures of about 0° F., but is not a vigorous grower

where low temperatures are common. The sweetshoot bamboo is

adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast as far north as Norfolk, Va., and the Pacific coast except the extreme south and north.

Phyllostachys flexuosa A. & C. Riv.

P. feniom is a hardy Chinese bamboo. Culms are up to 30 or more

feet high and to l-')4 inches in diameter at the base, and usually erect,

straight or often somewhat zigzag, or flexuous; the latter suggests the

specific name ßexitosa. Leaves, two or three on a twig, are commonly

2 to 5 inches long and % to % inch wide. The culm sheaths are

greenish beige spotted with brown, with purplish close-set veins, and

smooth ; the lowest sheaths are sometimes a solid deep purple. Sheath

blades are narrow and mostly bent back or strongly arched.

Tlie edible new shoots, which appear about midspring, are slightly

acrid when raw. Although the wood is of only medium quality, the

mature culms can be used for fishing poles, plant stakes, and many

other purposes.

Two or more forms of different seedling origins are in cultivation

in tliis country; one of these has withstood —8° F., with some foliage

injury only. This species is adapted to tlie gulf region from southeastern Texas to Georgia and Florida, the Atlantic coast about as far

north as Philadelphia, Pa., and the Pacific coast perhaps to Vancouver.

Phyllostachys nieyeri ]\IcClure.

MEYER BAMBOO.

Meyer bamboo is a moderately hardy bamboo obtained in 1908 from

Chekiang Province, China. Culms are up to 35 feet high and 2 inches

in diameter at the base and with dense foliage. Leaves are somewhat

narrowly lance-shaped, 2 to 5 inches long and %6 to V2 inch wide,

and usually two to five on a twig on new culms and two or three on

a twig on older culms, but twigs are numerous. Culm sheaths are

greenish buff more or less spotted and blotched with brown, somewhat glaucous, fringed along base with a narrow band of minute

white hairs but otherwise entirely glabrous, and without auricles or

oral setae; ligules are of medium height, with convex or nearly

truncate margin, and at first ciliate but later smooth. The plant

much resembles P. aurea, but there is never any of the irregular

crowding of the lower nodes of the culm as in that species, and the

ligules of the culm sheaths are higher and without the prominent

fringe of hairs typical of P. aurea.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 25

The new shoots, which appear in midspring, are edible. Mature

culms of the Meyer bamboo are rated among the finest and strongest

of the geiuis Phyllostachys. They are especially good for fishing

poles—the longer ones for salt-water fishing—and also for the harvesting of nuts. Those of the larger diameters are good for heavy

plant stakes, and the bi-anched tops of all culms make excellent supports for vines such as lima beans and sweetpeas.

This valuable species is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic

coast at least as far north as Norfolk, Va., and most of the Pacific

coast.

Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd.) Munro {Bamhusanigra).

BLACK BAMBOO ; Japanese name, KTJROCIIIKU.

Black bamboo is a fairly hardy and very graceful black-culmed

bamboo, native to southern China but long cultivated also in Japan.

Several different seedling forms are in cultivation which vary slightly

ill certain respects, such as ultimate height or rate and intensity of

blackening of tlie culms, and rate of rhizome extension. Culms are

up to 26 feet high and IVi inches in diameter at the base and at first

green but gradually becoming—usually by the end of the first season

—nearly or quite solid black or, rarely, purplish black. Tliere is

often a third, small branch at upper culm nodes and rarely a fourth

dimunitive one. Leaves are rather small—commonly )] to '^''/^ inches

long and % to % inch wide but sometimes half again as long and

wide. Culm sheaths are greenish bulf to pale or ruddy buff, unspotted, and sparsely pubescent. Sheath blades are green, broadly to

narrowly triangular, and more or less wavy, especially on larger

culms; auricles and bristles are purplish and prominent except on

lowest sheaths.

Xew shoots, which appear in late midspring, are edible. The black

bamboo is a favorite garden ornamental because of its graceful foliage and growth habits and its black culms. Although the culms are

never very large and are rather thin walled, the wood is fairly hard

and is used extensively by cabinetmakers for indoor work in the

Orient.

The black bamboo is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast

at least as far north as Norfolk, Va., and on the Pacific coast where

temperatures do not go below 0° F.

Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd.) Munro cv. HENON McClure {P. pubeiula; P. nigra var. henonis).

HENON BAMBOO; Japanese name, HACHIKU.

Henon bamboo is an exceptionally graceful giant hardy bamboo,

native to southern China but long cultivated in Japan. The Henon
26 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

bamboo is considered by botanists to be the true biological species

and the smaller, black-ciilmed form to be of garden origin, but the

latter was described and named first and so the true species must be

treated as a variety, or culti\ar. (\ilms are up to 54 feet high and

31/2 inches in diameter at the base (in the south). Branching habit

and leaves are the same as in the typical form of the species (p. 25).

The handsome young shoots are easily distinguished from those of

other giant bamboos in that the culm sheaths are of an unspotted

tawny hue, tinted with wine, and softened with an inconspicuous

coating of brown hairs; each sheath is surmounted by an erect crinkly

green blade with a pair of dusky auricles, fringed with bristles, at its

base. When sheaths of new culms fall, the surface of internodes is

bright green but somewhat dimmed by a thin film of white powder;

later this powder becomes an oif-white, which further obscures the

green. New culms at first are rough to the touch from a coating of

short stiff hairs; these hairs later fall away.

New shoots, which appear in late midspring, are rather bitter or

acrid wlien raw and slightly fragrant when cooking (bitterness is

removed by change of water in cooking). Culms are rather thin

walled, but the wood is rated higli in strength for its thickness.

Though apparently of southern origin, the Henon bamboo has

endured mininnun temperatures down to —5° in Maryland, with

only partial killing of leaves. This species is adapted to the gulf

region, the Atlantic coast perhaps as far north as Philadelphia, Pa.,

and most of the Pacific coast to the Columbia River and possibly

farther north.

Phyllostachys nuda McClure.

P. nuda is an exceptionally hardy bamboo from Chekiang Province,

China. Culms are up to ?A feet higli and 1% inches in diameter at the

base; internodes are copiously and loosely powdery at sheath-fall

and slightly ribbed-striate. Leaves are commonly 3 to 4 inches long

and % to y2 inch wide but sometimes half again as long and wide.

Culm sheaths have rather prominent veins and are glabrous, grayish

wine, wliite-powdery, and the basal ones are blotched with wine, but

the upper ones, unspotted; ligules are prominent. Sheath blades are

relatively short, crinkled, and spreading away from the culm. Culm

sheaths and leaf sheaths are without auricles or bristles. P. nuda

resembles P. arcana, but it can be distinguished from it by the shape

of the ligules of the culm sheath—those of P. nuda have truncate

apexes but the ligules of P. arcana are strongly convex.

Edible young shoots are of excellent quality and only slightly acrid

when raw. The mature culms are not of the highest industrial quality

but are useful locally for fishing poles, plant stakes, and similar

purposes.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 27

In a mature grove near Washington, D.C., P. nuda has withstood

—7° to —8° F., with only minor injury to foliage. This species is

adapted to the gulf region from southeastern Texas eastward, the

Atlantic coast perhaps as far north as Philadelphia, Pa., and on the

Pacific coast probably as far north as Vancouver.

Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex H. de Leh. {P. edulis, earlier misidentified as P. mitis).

Moso BAMBOO; Japanese name, MOSO-CHIKU.

Moso bamboo is the largest and handsomest of the giant hardy running bamboos and is native to China. Culms sometimes reach heights

of 75 feet or more and have basal diameters up to 8 inches in China

and Japan. Heights of 60 feet have been attained in this country.

Culms are a little larger in diameter for their height and more tapering than those of most bamboos; the internodes are gray green and

at first densely velvety pubescent but later white-powdery. The

leaves are very small—usually 2 to 3 inches long and about % inch

wide but somewhat larger on young culms. The foliage is more

feathery and attractive than that of any other species of the genus.

Culm sheaths are hairy, greenish smoky, and densely spotted with

brown.

The new shoots appear in early midspring. Because of the large

size of shoots ultimately produced in a well-managed grove, the moso

bamboo ranks as one of the most valuable of the hardier bamboos for

the commercial production of edible shoots in China and Japan. In

quality, the regidar spring shoots are somewliat inferior to those of

many other species of Phyllostachys. However, in the Orient, the

much less developed and more tender "winter shoots," often dug as

early as December, are of great excellence and highly esteemed as a

delicacy. The value of moso bamboo shoots from groves in Jaj^an is

reported sometimes to be about equal to that of the mature culms

marketed. Large quantities of the canned shoots have been exported

from China and Japan to the United States in past years. The fresh

shoots are fragrant when cooking, but they are bitter or acrid when

raw; the acridity is removed by a change of water in cooking. The

wood of the culms is softer than in most related species, but the larger

culms especially, because of their size, are utilized for numerous purposes in the Orient. And doubtless these culms may later be found

of value in this country for various special uses.

Moso bamboo, although in time attaining great size in a favorable

environment, is much more difficult to propagate vegetatively than

other species of Phyllostachys. Newly propagated plants make slow

growth and often fail where soil and moisture conditions are less

than the best. This species is hardy down to about 3° F. It is
28 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 19 3, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

adapted climatically to the northern gulf region, the Atlantic coast

as far north as Wilmington, N.C., and on the Pacific coast perhaps to

the Columbia River.

Phyllostachysviridi-glaucescens (Carr.) A. &C. Riv.

P. viñdi-glaucescens is a medium-sized hardy Chinese bamboo; it

has been grown in Europe since 1846. Two or more clones, differing

somewhat in several respects, appear to be in cultivation. The one

here described was obtained from England in 1937 under the name

P. mitis. Its true identity as P. virkli-glnucescens was recognized

several years later; it differs from another known clone in being

more vigorous and apparently of greater ultimate height. Culms are

up to 35 feet high and 2 inches in diameter at the base, straight,

nearly or quite erect, and green but white-powdery at sheath-fall.

Leaves are commonly 4 to 5 inches long and y2 to % inch wide but

sometimes less than half as large or up to 7 inches long and 1 inch

wide. Culm sheaths are narrow at tlie apex, pale buff tinged with

green and strewn with many small brown spots and blotches, loosely

l^owdery, scabrous, and stiff-hairy; auricles, usually two but sometimes one or absent, are long, narrow, and with few but prominent

bristles; ligules are fairly long and narrow, more or less convex at

the apex, and at first more or less fringed and ciliate. Sheath blades

are ribbonlike, reflexed, and usually somewhat crinkled.

New shoots, which appear early in spring, are almost without

acridity, or "bite,"' when raw. The culms have not been tested for

their technological properties, but they appear to be of excellent

quality and the plant appears to be well worth trial by interested

growers.

The cold endurance of this bamboo is not definitely known, but it is

estimated to be about —4° F. This species is adapted to the gulf

region from southeastern Texas eastward, the Atlantic coast possibly

as far north as Philadelphia, Pa., and the Pacific coast at least to the

Columbia River.

Phyllostachys viridis (Young) McClure (P. mitis; P. sulphureava,r.

viridis).

P. viridis is a giant hardy Chinese bamboo (fig. 10). It was first

introduced into Europe nearly a century ago. Its original habitat in

China is unknown. Culms are 50 feet or more high and 3i/4 inches in

diameter at the base, suberect, and often slightly curved. Internodes

when examined with a lens have a distinctive pigskin-like (minutely

dimpled) surface. Leaves are commonly 3 to 5 inches long and %

to % inch wide; leaf sheaths have auricles and bristles well developed

on young culms but often missing on older ones. Culm sheaths are
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 29

glabrous, smooth on margins, the lowest ones brownish yellow and

graduating in color with the tip ones yellowish green, and all more

or less blotclied, spotted, or speckled with dark to light brown.

Sheath blades are without auricles or bristles at base.

New shoots, which appear in midspring, are of excellent eating

quality and practically free of "bite" when raw. The wood of the

mature culms is reported to have excellent technological properties.

Near Washington, B.C., this species has shown cold resistance down

to —8° F. with injury to foliage only. It is adapted to the gulf

region from soutlieastern Texas eastward, the Atlantic coast possibly as far north as Philadelphia, Pa., and most of the Pacific coast

to Vancouver.

Phyllostachys vivax ]\IcClure.

P. vivax is an unusually handsome giant hardy timber bamboo,

with heavy drooping foliage, from Chekiang Province, China. Culms

are up to 70 feet or more high and 5 inches in diameter at the base

and erect or nearly so, more or less zigzag, or sometimes slightly

curved. Internodes are glabrous, at sheatli-fall perceptibly whitepowdery just below nodes, and strongly and irregularly ribbed-striate.

Leaves are connnonly 4 to 6 inches long and -'s to •'^4 inch wide but

sometimes much smaller or up to 8 inches long and to 1 inch wide and

nearly or quite smooth beneath. Culm sheaths are thin, entirely

smooth and without auricles and bristles, creamy buíF, a little whitepowdery, and with brown or some almost black spots; ligules are

short and convex at apex; sheath blades are narrowly triangidar to

ribbon-shaped, reflexed, and crinkly. P. vivax closely resembles P.

hamhusoides. Init it is a more rapid and stronger grower, has thinner

walls, and sends up its shoots 2 weeks earlier.

The new shoots are free of acridity, or "bite," when raw.

The cold resistance of this species is undetermined, but it is believed to be near 0° F. It is adapted to the gulf region from southeastern Texas eastward, the Atlantic coast as far north as Norfolk,

Va., and the Pacific coast probably to the Columbia River.

Pseudosasa japónica (Sieb. & Zuce.) Makino {Anindinaria japónica;

Sasa japónica; Bainbuna metahe Hort.).

METAKE (Japanese name, pronoimced may-tah'kay) :

ARROW BAMBOO.

Metake, is a handsome, fairly hardy oriental bamboo. Its origin

is in douljt, Ijut it is grown widely in Japan and is said to occur

abundantly in central Korea. It has been in cultivation in Europe

for more than a century and in the I'nited States probal)ly for nearly

a century. Culms are up to 18 feet high and % inch in diameter at

574764°—61 5
30 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

the base and bear semierect branches singly at the upper nodes.

Leaves, in chisters of 4 to 12 near tips of branches, are 5 to 13 inches

long and % to 1% inches wide, glos.sy dark green above and somewhat

glaucous beneath, and wedge-shaped at the base. Culm sheaths, except at lower nodes, are about as long as the internodes or longer and

at first stiff-hairy but later becoming smooth; they do not fall off.

As Metake spreads less rapidly than many other running bamboos

and has attractive foliage, it is valuable in decorative plantings in

mild-wintered localities or as a tub plant in a sunlit conservatory.

Metake is grown scafteringly in most of the milder parts of the

I nited States and usually remains evergreen where the temperature

does not fall lower than about 5° F., though it suffers leaf damage.

It is adapted to the gulf region from southeastern Texas eastward,

the Atlantic coast as far north as Norfolk, Va., and the Pacific coast

probably at least to the Columbia liiver.

Sasa disticha (Mitf.) E. G. Camus {ßambu.sa dl-sficha; B. nana

Ilort.).

Dw.\RF FKRXLEAF BAMBOO.

Dwarf Feiiileaf bamboo is an attractive, low-growing. Jai)anese

rumiing bamboo. The leaves are more or less closely two-ranked

on the branches, which often gives the appearance of a fernleaf.

Culms commonly grow 2 or 3 feet higli in the open, but in shade

they reach 5 feet. The branches tend to elongate and the leaf arrangement becomes more open when grown in tlie sliade. Leaves are

lance-shaped, rounded at base, green and smooth on both surfaces,

and conunonly 1 to 214 inches long and Yi^ to % inch wide but sometimes larger.

^Y\\^n small or of medium size this pleasing little plant is dainty in

appearance, but, as with other bamboos of this type, rhizomes will

Tisually require curbing to prevent their extension iiito a lawn or other

nearby plantings where eradication may be difhcult.

The leaves are more or less injured at about 10° F., but they are

replaced by new leaves in midspring. This species is adapted to the

gulf region, the Atlantic coast probably as far north as Philadelphia,

Pa., and the Pacific coast ; but it does better toward the north.

Sasapalmata (Mitf.) E.G. Camus {Bamhum palmata; Arumlhmria

palmata).

S. palmata is a strikingly handsome medium-low, hardy oriental

l)amboo. This species originated in China or Japan and was introduced to this country by way of Europe. The first introduction here,

as tar as is known, was by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in

192.., and was distributed for some time under the misidentification

of ,S. serumen.'<i.. Culms are up to 7 feet high and •%„ inch in di-
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 31

iimeter at the base, thick-walled, and often curved at the base. Internodes are at fii'st green, white-powdery below nodes, but later often

becoming much blotched witli Ijrown. Branches arise singly from

some of middle and upper nodes of tiie culm, and, later, one or two

secondary branches often grow singly from a primary. Leaves are

oblong-lance shaped, rounded to broadly tapering at the base and

fairly long pointed at the tip, 4 to 15 inches long and V^ to 31/2

inches wide, bright green abo^e but silvery beneath, smooth on both

surfaces, finely serrate on margins, and ¡^almately clustered near the

tips of culms and branches. Culm sheaths are about two-thirds to

three-fourths the length of internodes, green and white-powdery at

ñrst, entirel}' smooth, and persistent; the sheath blades are very

small.

This bamboo, with its large bright-green leaves, is an outstanding

ornamental, which is useful where space is not too limited. It is an

aggressive grower and when well established tends to spread rather

rapidly. In Japan it is reported to cover large areas on mountains

and to retard or prevent reforestation in those places. Although the

culms are small they are used in small quantities as a source of pulp

for manufacture of hardboard.

This species withstands cold to about 0° F., with leaf damage only.

It is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast perhaps as far

north as Boston, Mass., and the Pacific coast to the Columbia Tîiver

or farther north. Apparently it is not well suited to the long summers of the south.

Sasa veitchii (Carr. ) Rehder (Bainbu-sa nibo-inarghiafa; B. veitchU;

Arundinaria ve'tfchii).

Japanese name, KUJIAZASA.

S. veitchii is a low-growing Japanese bamboo. Culms may not exceed 2 to 3 feet high if grown in the sun, but they may attain a height

of 4 to 5 feet in partial shade. Internodes are rather short, purplish,

and at first ¡powdery. Branches are single at nodes. The little culm

sheaths at first are densely white-hairy. Leaves are broad, usually

oblong, 2 to 7 inches long and % to 1% inches wide, dark green above

and glaucous or powdery beneath, well rounded to broadly tapering

at base, and somewhat abruptly pointed at tip. In autumn, even

before frost, the leaves have a tendency to turn straw color rather

evenly around the entire margin, which gives a striking and interesting appearance. The leaves are similar to those of ^S*. pahnata except

I hat they are smaller and dark green instead of light green. Like its

near relatives, S. veitchii spreads fairly rapidly when well established.

This species is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast north

at least to Xorfolk, Va., and most of the Pacific coast, though it does

less well in areas of long sunnners.
32 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Semiarundinaria fastuosa (Marl.) Makino {Amndinaria nanhira;

A. fastuosa).

NARIHIRA BAMBOO; Japanese name, NAKIHIRADAKE.

Narihira bamboo is an exceptionally stately and handsome bamboo.

Culms are up to 2.5 feet high and 1% inches in diameter at the base,

thin-walled, and slightly zigzag. Internodes with branches at base

are narrowly grooved above the branches. Branches are upright and

often rebranched later, one to three at branching nodes of culm, but

as taller culms are produced more and more of the lower nodes remain bare, as in other bamboos. Leaves, five to nine on a branch,

are medium size (up to 7 inches long and % to 1 inch wide), rounded

to tapering at base, sharp-pointed at tip, dark green and smooth

above and gray green and slightly pubescent beneath, and with

unequally serrate margins. Culm sheaths are thick, smooth, green at

first but becoming purplish, and glossy inside; ligules are low, truncate, convex or concave, and cilia te on margin; sheath blades are

rather short, linear-lance shaped, purple, minutely rough above and

beneath, and sparsely and minutely ciliate on margins. Many sheaths

remain attached at middle of base, conspicuously inclined at various

angles, until late in season; this is a ready aid to identification.

New shoots, which appear in late spring, are edible and practically

free of "bite'' but mostly too small to be important for food. ^S'.

fastuosa is grown only for its decorative value. It is one of the

species that have been used experimentally with success as a hedge,

in part because the rhizomes are less rampant than in most running

bamboos. With care, and removal of all leaves, clumps of four and

five closely spaced culms 16 feet high have been successfully transplanted in early spring.

This species lias withstood temperatures of —i° F., with little

injury to foliage but killed back to the ground at lower temperatures.

It is adapted to the gulf region, the Atlantic coast probably as far

north as Philadelphia, Pa., and the Pacific coast perhaps to Vancouver.

Shibataea kumasaca (Zoll.) Xakai (Phy?7ostarhi/s l-nmasara; '^h/'hataea I'lnnamsa, variant of hnnasaca—pronounced "kumasasa"

even though spelled "kumasaca"; Bamhusa ruscifolia; B, vhninalü Hort.).

Japanese names, OKAMEZASA and BUNGOZASA.

S. humasaca is a small, broad-leaved, highly distinctive, ornamental

Japanese bamboo. Culms are 3 to 6 feet high, slender, nearly solid,

and half-round or somewhat triangular; nodes are prominent; the

internodes are short (2 inches or less), and slightly zigzag. Branches,

3 to 5, are short (14 to 1/0 inch long) and slender ^xnd each has a

terminal leaf first year and sometimes a lateral also in the second
BAMBOO IX THE UNITED STATES 33

year. Leaves are ovate-lance shaped, sharp-pointed, 2 to 4 Indies

long and i/2 to 1 inch wide, smooth above and minutely pubescent

beneath, and serrate on both margins. Culm sheaths are membranous,

purplish at first, and as long as the internodes or longer; sheath

blades are diminutive. This unique plant, with its broad leaves resembling those of the genus I?u-scii-s of the lily family, its odd branching habit, and extremely slender culms looks little like any ordinary

bamboo. And the untrained observer would seldom recognize it as

a bamboo or even as a member of tlie grass family. It might be

called the ruscus-leaf bamboo.

The leaves are damaged at about 10° F., but as new leaves appear

in late spring the plant can be grown over a considerable extent of

latitude. This species is adapted to the gulf region from southeastern

Texas eastward, the Atlantic coast at least as far north as Norfolk,

Va., and most of the Pacific coast.

Other Running Bamboos in Cultivation

.1 pproximate

height

Feet

Phyllostachys angusta McClure 22

arcana McClure . 27

batnbusoides cv. ALLGOLD McClure {P. sulphurea; P. castillonis var. holochrysa; P. reticulata var. sulphurea) 2.5

bambusaides cv. SLENDER CROOKSTEM McClure {P. reticulata f. geniculata) 48

batnbusoides cv. WHITE CROOKSTEM McClure 35

bissetii McClure 21

congesta Rendle 4.3

decora McClure 24

elegans McClure 32

glauca McClure 34

makinoi Híiyñta. Height reported from Formosa 60

nidularia Munro. Typical form 33

nidularia cv. SMOOTHSHEATH McClure. 30

nigra cv. BORY McClure {P. boryana; P. nigra henonis f.

boryana) 50

propingua McClure 23

pwrpurato McClure. T3-pical form 18

purpurata cv. SOLIDSTEM McClure. Lower half of culm

solid 18

purpurata cv. STRAIGHTSTEM McClure 33

rubromarginata y.lcClure.. -- 32

viridis cv. ROBERT YOUNG McClure (earlier misidentified

as P. sulphurea). Yellow cukns with green stripes 45
34 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

A pproxi?nate

height

Feet

Arundinaria angustifolia (Mitf.) H. de Leli._ (Bambusa angustifolia) 5

basigibbosa McClure 5

chino (Fr. & Sav.) Alakino {Bambusa chino; Pleioblastus

maximowiczii) 9

chrymntha Mitford {Sasa chrymntha) 5

junghomii AIciMure 30

gigantea (Wsilt.) Chapm. {A. macro.^perma) 30

graminea (Mitf.) Makino (^4. hindsii var. graminea) 5

humilis Mitford {Sana humilis) 4J^

laydekeri (Mitf.) Hook. f. (Bambusa laydekeri; Pleioblastus

china var. laydekeri). 5

nagashima (Marl.) Aschers. & Graebn. {Bambusa nagashima) 4}^

pumila Mitford {Sasa pumila; Pleioblastus pumilus) 2

tecta (Walt.) Muhl. (A. macrosperma var. tecta) 8

tecta var. decidua C. D. Beadle 43/2

Chimonobambusa marmórea (Mitf.) Makino {Bambusa marmórea) . Semihardy only 5

quadrangularis (Fenzi) Makiiio (Bambusa quadrangularis;

Tetragonocalanius angulatus). Seinihardy only 30

Sasa kurilensis (Rupr.) Mak. & Shib. {Arundinaria kunlensis

var. genuina) 10

pygmaea (MitL) E. G. Camus (Bambusa pygmaea)^.. 1

tessellata (Munro) Mak. & Shib. (Bambusa tessellata; Arundinaria tessellata; A. ragamowski; Sasamorpha tessellata).

Very large leaves 2>}4,

Sinobambusa intermedia McClure. Seniihardy only 7

laeta McClure. Seniihardy only 16

tootsik (Mak.) Nakai {Bambusa tootsik; Arundinaria tootsik). Seniihardy only 20

Propagation of Running Bamboos

Bamboos of all kinds are propa<îated almost entirely by vegetative

means. This propagation method is desirable for retaining clonal

identity and in many cases is the only means available as most

species of bamboo flower and produce seed only at intervals of many

years.

The most practical method of propagation of the running bamboos

IS by cuttings of the underground rhizomes. The young rhizomes

readily produce rooted propagules without special" treatment and

thus are an easy method of propagation. The older rhizomes are of
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 35

much less value for pi-opaofiition as tlie buds usually die ^Yithin 2 or

3 years. The production of rhizomes for propa<rating new plants on

a reofular liasis may, therefore, he accomplished most efficiently Iiy

routine planting of rhizomes and redivision of new rhizome <;rowtli

from the resultiu<r plants at intervals of 1 to 8 years.

The planting of rhizomes of tlie runnino- bamboos should be done

relatively early—between January and the end of March, dependinc;

upon latitude and the earliness of season. The primary consideration

in timing is that the collection and division of rhizomes be well in

advance of the "shootini;," or culm development period, which occurs

from March to May; the time dependiuir upon the climate, weather

conditions of the area, and the species of bamboo.

Rhizome cuttings 12 to 13 inches long should be planted singly,

end to end, in well-prepared soil, and covered to a depth of .5 to Ct

inches. Rows may be 3 to 5 feet apart ; the distance depending upon

the type of cultivating equipment available. A well-drained site of

relatively high fertility is desirable for a bamboo nursery. The

young plants will respond to applications of a complete fertilizer

such as 5-10-5 (not more than 1 pound i)er 100 feet of row) or wellrotted manure worked into the row before planting. It is extremely

important that rhizomes be kept moist during the planting operations. They will not survive if permitted to dry out in the manner

frequently practiced with many species of deciduous nursery stock

that is moved in the "bare-root" condition. If a holding period is

necessary for the rhizomes, they may be kept moist by covering with

wet sawdust or sphagnum moss until planted. Tiiey nmst be kept

well watered throughout the first season, particularly during the first

2 months while the new roots and culms are developing.

Different species or varieties of running bamboo should be separated by at least 7 to 10 feet in the nursery. There is consideraljle

variation in vigor of growth among the different species; but, if the

original plants are in good condition when planted, one or more new

rhizomes usually should grow outward from each plant during the

summer. This growth will not be evident, however, until the next

spring when the new shoots from the rhizomes appear.

Ordinarily shoots will begin to appear above ground near the end

of April if planting is done by the end of ^larch. The plants generally should grow two seasons in the nursery, though 1-year-old

plants may sometimes be large and strong enough at least for local

transplanting. When left for 2 years, however, many more rhizomes

will develop that will be useful in further propagation. The plants

should be cut back to one-third or less of their height before being

lifted for transplanting or shipping. Unless the plants are to be

balled and burlapped it may be advisable to cut them back to the

ground level.
36 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 19 3, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

In the nursery, new plants of tlie hardy bamboos will come up

between the rows. If all tlie plants in the row and close to it are

taken up at the end of the second year, this will leave a row of scattered young ¡liants on each side that will be of good size for translîlanting a year later. These, in the meantime, will send rhizomes

back into the original row and in other directions, and from tliese

newer rhizomes otiier plants will appear later. This process can be

carried on for several years. Yearly fertilization will be needed,

however, if vigorous growtli is desired.

TROPICAL, CLUMP-TYPE BAMBOOS

Tlie clump-forming bamboos have relatively tliick and short rhizomes that with few exceptions make little or no horizontal growth

before turning uj^ward at the tips to develop into new culms. Tlie

new shoot arises from a bud on tlie base of a recently develojoed culm

that had a like origin; it is well supplied with tough fibrous I'oots

growing from its base, which bring nourishment and moisture to the

culm and furnish physical support. Practically all the clump liamboos are tropical or sulitropical in origin, as indicated earlier, and

only a few are adapted to a warm-temperate climate. Among the

latter are certain species of the genus Bainhum, especially R. multiplex

in its several varieties, B. textiUs, and species of the Chinese genus

S!inarundinaña, such as S. nítida, an exceptionally cold-resistant species. The outstanding characteristic of the clump bamboos is that,

because of their slow rate of spread, the original plantings unless

spaced too close togetlier, remain as distinct clumps of culms instead

of running together in thicket style within a short time as do the

liardy running l)amboos. The clump, cespitóse, or pachymorph, introduced bamboos now growing in the Avarmest parts of the United

States and in Puerto Eico are of about 11 genera: tlie most important

of these are Bambusa and Dendrocalamvs. Descriptions of the more

important species of clump bamboos follow. The other species in

cultivation are listed with approximate heights only.

Descriptions of Important Species of Clump-Type

Bamboos

Bambusa arundinacea Retz. {B. spinom).

GlAXT TIIORXY BA:\rB00.

Giant thorny bamboo is a giant thorny tropical edible bamboo,

native to India. The date of earliest introduction into this country

IS uncertain, but it probably was in the first decade of this centurv.

The culms have attained more than 95 feet in height and about Ú/.

inches in basal diameter in the Miami, Fla., area. It is reported to
BAÄIBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 37

grow even laroer in tîie Asi;in Tropics. The internodes of tlie culms

are fairly thick walled, but the wood is less dense tlian that of many

other bamboos. The edible new shoots appear during autumn in

southern Florida, but the culms usually do not extend their branches

until the following spring. Leaves, five or six on a branch or twig,

are 3 to 7 inches long and % to '^s inch wide. There are three

branches at each of several of the lower culm nodes—a central large

primary with a secondary pair of much smaller subequal ones; often

there are also several diminutive twiglike branches. The primary

branches are elongated and almost vinelike, with all the secondaries

modified into short sharp thorns; the branchlets at the nodes of the

lower primaries are modified into similar thorns. Higher' on the

culm, the branchlets and the secondary branches are gradually less

thorny, or spiny, until near the top normal leafy ones only are found.

Tlie long thorny lower branches in time form an almost impenetrable

barrier against larger animals that otherwise might eat or destroy

the shoots at sprouting time. Culm sheaths are 9 to 12 inches long,

hairy and orange-yellow on the outside while young, shining and

prominently ribbed on the inside. Sheath blades are relatively short

and broad, esjiecially on sheaths of the lower nodes; they are distinguished by the dense appressed hairiness, blackish and furlike, on

the inner surface and b^- their not being separable from the sheath

as in most bamboos.

The edible new shoots are rather bitter and must be cooked in at

least two waters. Although this species does not rate high in quality

as a source of wood for paper pulp, it has been used for this purpose

in India as it produces volume at a rapid rate where climate and

soil are congenial.

This species withstands several degrees of frost, but it is injured

or killed at temperatures lower than 27° F.

Bambusa beecheyana Munro {SinocaJamus heecheynmis).

BEECIIEY BA:MBOO.

Beecliey bamboo is a large semihardy bamboo with edible shoots,

native to southeastern China. It was introduced into southern California at an unknown early date and into southern Florida first in

1926 and again at later dates. The plants develop rapidly under

favorable conditions, and culm heights up to 40 feet and culm basal

diameters of about 4 inches in about 5 years from planting have been

recorded in soutliern Florida. The culms are a rather bright green,

strongly tapered, and often elliptic in cross section, and they form a

somewhat open clump. The new shoots usually appear in late summer and early autumn in this country. Branches are few at a node
38 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

of the culm. Leaves, 6 to 10 on a branch or twig, are 31/2 to 7 inches

long and V2 ^o 1% inches wide. Culm sheaths are glabrous except

for a hne ¡pubescence at the base, green at first but drying to a grayish

brown, with veins becoming prominent and giving the sheath a striate

appearance. The sheath is much wider at the base than at the apex,

which is truncate, and is surmounted by a small, triangular, nonseparable sheath blade that is a little narrower at base than at apex

of sheath and without auricles; ligules, on lower eight sheaths, are

1/4 inch or less high, with erose margins.

Beechey bamboo is one of the more important sources of commercial

bamboo shoots in southern China. In the production of edible shoots,

it is necessary to mound up the soil around the bases of clumps every

year, to exclude as nearly as possible all light from the younger shoots

until tliey are dug, in order to prevent the de\e]opment of an intense

bitterness or acridity in the shoots. This is standard practice in China

in growing tliis bamboo for its shoots.

This species has withstood temperatures down to 20° F.—about the

same as for the better-known Bamhusa oldhnmi (formerly miscalled

Dendrocalamtis latiflorus in California and Florida) and B. fuldoides

(/>. thoiiai'.ù Hort.). It is adapted to localities in southern Florida

and southern California in which temperatures lower than 20° F. occur

only at intervals of several years.

Bambusa multiplex (Lour.) Raeusch. (B. nana; Leleha multiplex.).

HEDGE BA:WBOO ; ORIENTAL HEDGE BAMBOO.

Hedge bamboo is one of the most variable of all bamboos in cultivation. This variability explains its general adaptability for decorative planting and the early segregation of distinctive forms that

froin time to time have arisen during its long period under domestication. It has been found growing in the wild only in northern

Kwangtung Province, in southern China. In its eight recognized

forms, or cultivars, it is by far the commonest species of clump-type

bamboo now in cultivation in the South Atlantic and Gulf States and

in southern California. The varieties as observed range in maximum height from about 10 feet for the Chinese goddess bamboo, B.

multiplex var. riviereorum Maire, to nearly 50 feet (under extremely

favoral)le conditions) for B. nmltiplex cv. Silverstripe. The culms

form a fairly compact clump, and they are rather slender for their

height and, in taller specimens, usually more or less arched. There

are marked differences between some varieties in culm and leaf

characters. The culm internodes are rather long—the longest, usually

the third from base of the culm, is up to 22 inches or more long.

The new shoots in all forms of Bambusa multijylex usually appear

in midsunnner or earlier, but the resulting culms of the larger and

later sprouting ones commonly do not extend their branches and shed
BAJMBOO IN THE XJNITED STATES 39

their sheaths until the next spring. Sometimes the culm sheaths may

remain partly attached for several weeks longer. They are usually

slightly hair}-; and the blade, decurrent at tlie base, witli or without

auricles, separates from tlie sheath when dry; in a few varieties the

sheaths bear distinctive color markings. Branches range from a few

to as many as 35, mostly very small, at a culm node. There is a ])rimary branch of considerable length and a secondary pair of subetiual

smaller ones—one at each side—arising from two crowded basal nodes

of the primary; and small to diminutive branches or twigs develop

successively within a year from the much crowded basal nodes of the

primary and secondary branches. Branchlets develop from the

upper nodes of the primary branch and sometimes from those of the

two secondaries also. The leaves, 5 to 11 on a branch or twig, are

lance-shaped to narrow-oblong, rounded at the base, and strikingly

glaucous, or silvery, beneath: they are variable in size, not only between some of the varieties but within them owing to ditferences in

age of culm and in soil conditions. On first-year culms, as with

bamboos in general, the leaves average larger than on older ones.

All the forms of B. multiplex except the botanical variety riviereorum. the Chinese goddess bamboo, have flowered somewhat freely

at one time or another.

The shoots are bitter and are rarely used for food, ("ulms of any

variety of the hedge bamboo are often used locally for fishing poles

and for some other purposes, but because of their rather thin walls

and usually somewhat arched form they are not ideal for fishing

poles. The fil)er length of the wood is favorable for paper-pulp

manufacture, Init the thinness of walls and the relatively small diameter of culms, which rarely exceeds 1% inches even m the larger

varieties, may preclude this species as an important source of material

for paper pulp.

Hedge bamboo is one of the most cold resistant of the tropical,

clump-type bamboos: it has withstood temperatures clown to 17° F.

and slightly lower in some of its forms.

Bambusa multiplex, typical form {B. argenten Hort.; B. iianri var.

noniKiH-f; B. nana var. argéntea Hort.; Leleha multiplex).

HEDGE B.VMBOO; ORIENTAL HEDGE BAJIBOO;

Japanese name, HORAICHIKU.

The typical form of B. multiplex is considered to represent the

original wild plant from which all other forms or varieties have

arisen; this was long known to nurserymen and others in this country

under the horticultural name B. argéntea. The name alludes to the

silvery undersurface of the leaves, which is connnon to all the forms

of B. multiplex. The thin-walled, plain-green culms grow to 35 or
40 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

more feet high, with basal diameters of at least IVo inclies, where soil,

moisture, and temperature conditions are favorable. Branches are

few to as many as o5 at a node, one branch beii^g relatively large,

with a pair of subequal, somewhat smaller ones at its base, and the

remainder small to diminnti\e. Leaves are plain green above and

11/2 to 7 inches long and %6 to S/io inch wide. Sprouting time is

about midsunnner, and the new culms often do not branch and shed

their slieaths mitil tlie next spring. The culm sheaths are without

distinctive markings. This species is adapted to locations where

winter temperatures do not often fall lower than IT" F.

Bambusa multiplex cv. ALPHONSE KARR Young (/>'. idphome-l-nrri;

B. nana var. alphonse-karri; Leleha multiplex i. alphon-^e karri).

ALPHONSE KARR HAJIBOO; Japanese name, SUOCïîIKTJ.

Alphonse Karr bamboo was named for Jean Baptiste Alphonse

Karr, a French journalist, novelist, and horticulturist of the 19th

century. It is a large and attractive hedge bamboo much like the

typical form in stature and foliage characters; however, the culms

and branches are bright yellow irregularly striped with vivid green

and the culm sheaths have whitish to yellowish stripes that remain

when the darker, brownish-green parts fade to a pale brownish hue.

Culm lieights of 35 to 40 feet in Florida have been reported, but 25

to 30 feet is usual under most conditions. The new shoots appear in

early midsummer. This cultivar perhaps can withstand a degree

lower temperature than the typical form.

Bambusa multiplex cv. FERNLEAF Young (B. nana; B. nana var.

gracilUma; B. nana var. disttcha TLovt.; LeleJja floribunda).

FERNLEAF HEDGE BAMBOO; Ja])anese name, HO-O-CHIKU.

Cultivar Ferideaf is a graceful, more or less dwarf form of the

species that has been long in the nursery trade. In this country it

has been sometimes known under such erroneous names as Arundinaría nitida or Banibum falcata. Culms are 10 to 20 feet high and

have hollow internodes with relatively thick walls. The fernleaf

character of foliage results from the dwarf size of the entire plant

but especially of the leaf-bearing branches or twigs. The twigs are

shorter and the leaves are smaller but much more numerous on a twig

than they are on the typical form. Leaves are % to li/o inches long,

Vs to yi6 inch wide, closely 2-ranked, and usually 10 to 20 on a twig.

There are no special color markings on the plant. In a relatively

infertile or dry soil the foliage cluiracters mentioned are commonly

well retained and the culms may not exceed 11 feet in height. Under

better soil and moisture conditions, however, they grow taller and

the foliage often tends to lose its fernlike character. New culm
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 41

shoots appear in late spring or early summer. This bamboo witlistands temperatures down to about 16° F., with little injury.

Bambusa multiplex cv. SILVERSTKIPE FEKXLEAF Youno; (/>. timid f.

aJho-variegitta; Lehha forihunda f. alho-iutriegata).

SiLVEKSTRiPE FEUXLEAF RAMBOO ; Japanese name, FUIRIHO-O-CIIIKU.

Cultivar Silverstripe Fernleaf, a rare variety, is similar to cv.

Fernleaf except that it has white-striped leaves. It is believed to

have arisen, however, from the cultivar Silverstripe, since fern-leaved

branches occasionally have been observed in the latter cultivar.

Bambusa multiplex cv. STRIPESTEJI FERNLEAF Young (Z?. nana f.

vi/'idi--sf/¡afa: Leleha fioiihunda f. v¡r¡di-f<ti-¡at(t).

STRIPESTEJI FERNLEAF BAMBOO; Japanese name, BEXIHO-O-CHIKU.

Cultivar Stripestem Fernleaf is similar in all respects to cv. Fernleaf except that the culms at ñrst are light reddish to yellowish and

are irregularly striped with green.

Bambusa multiplex var. r'tviereonun Maire.

CiiiXESE GODDESS BAMBOO; Chiucse name, Koox YAJI CHUK.

Chinese goddess bamboo is a very distinct, dwarf, solid-stennned,

fern-leaved variety from southeastern China. In foliage characters

it is nearly identical with cv. Fernleaf and cv. Stripestem P'ernleaf.

This beautiful bamboo appears to be perfectly stable in all its characters; it has not been known to change materially in stature or otlier

respects with ordinary differences in soil or moisture. In comparison

with cv. Fernleaf, the solid internodes of the culms of the Chinese

goddess variety constitute a positive distinguishing character. It

is slightly more cold resistant, however; it endures about l.j^ F.,

with minor injurj'.

Bambusa multiplex cv. SILVERSTRIPE Young {B. nana var. variegnfii ;

B. nana var. argenteo-striaia Hort.; B. argeniea-striata Hort.;

B. vittata-argentea Hort.; Leleha mulüiüex f. variegata).

SILVERSTRIPE IIEDíJE BAMBOO; Jaj^anese name, HOSIIOCIIIKU.

The Silverstripe hedge bamljoo apparently is tlie largest form of

B. nndtiplex and the most widely grown in the Lower South and tlie

Southwest. Heights up to 45 or more feet have been observed in an

old planting, under exceptionally favorable conditions in central

Florida, though ordinarily it rarely exceeds 35 to -40 feet. The plant

differs in appearance from the typical form in that a few to many

of its leaves are striped witli wliite, the culm internodes usuallj- bear

one or two tlireadlike whitisli stripes, and the cidm sheaths have several broad brownish stripes aJteinating with green wlien fresh, and
42 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

the brown remains when the green fades. Rarely some of the fernleaf type of foliage has been observed on a branch or two of a single

culm. This cultivar endures somewhat lower temperature than does

the typical form.

Bambusa multiplex cv. WILLOWY Young.

Cultivar "Willowy is a medium-sized bamboo with slender culms.

This cultivar apparently has not been recognized under a distinctive

name in China or Japan, though allusion to a drooping form in

China has been found in the literature. Culms grow to about 20

feet high, and the culm diameters do not exceed % to % inch near

the base. Culms nearing maximum height tend strongly to droop or

bend, even without the masses of foliage that cause excessive bending

in other varieties. Tlie lowest internodes are solid and higher ones

thick walled, so that the drooping tendency does not develop in culms

of lower height. The new shoots appear in summer. All parts of

the plant of cv. Willowy are green, and the culm sheaths fade

to a dull straw color. Branches and twigs are exceedingly slender.

Leaves are narrow, II/2 to 4^/^ inches long by ^ g to % ii^ch wide.

In cold resistance this bamboo about equals cultivars Silverstripe

;ind Fernleaf.

Bambusa oldhami Munro {Lehba oldhami; Sinocalamus oldham'i).

OLDIIAM BAMBOO; Japanese name (in Formosa), MOROKUDAKE.

Oldham bamboo is a handsome, semihardy, giant bamboo, native

to southern China and Formosa. B. oldhami was long known in southern California and Florida under the misidentification of DendrocaJamus latif.onis. It forms moderately open clumps. Culm heights

up to 55 feet have been reported in Florida and even taller in the

Panama Canal Zone; the maximum culm basal diameters attained

were about 314 inches. There are the usual fairly large primary

branch, two smaller secondary branches, and a few smaller ones at

each branching node of the culm. Leaves, seven to nine on a branch

or twig, are .3 to 9 inches long and % to liÁ inches wide. New shoots

appear in early or midautumn in California and Florida. The culm

sheaths are much the same in shape as those of B. heecheyana except

that they are much broader at the apex, with the base of the sheath

Iliade greatly extended and equaling the apex of the sheath in width;

rudimentary auricles are sometimes present. The sheaths are at first

co\ered with short appressed hairs, but as the sheaths dry most of

these fall off; the sheaths dry to a somewhat dull straw color, and the

veins do not become prominent.

The culm walls are of moderate thickness, and the wood is not very

hard. No important economic uses for the culms are yet known, but

the plant is an outstanding ornamental of laro-e size.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 43

Oldham bamboo witlistands a niiiiinmni temperature of about 20° F.

Bambusa pervariabilis :\rcChue.

Chinese names, YAX CHUK. FA MEI CIIUK, NAI CIIUK.

B. pervariabilis is a medium-tall, slender bamboo closely related to

B. tuUoides. It grows more stiffly erect than B. tuldoides, but resembles it in some other superficial characters. The culms are thicker

•walled, the wood is more durable, and the nodes are more prominent

and more heavily branched than in B. tuldoides; and the internodes

are very often white-striate and densely pubescent. Culms are up to 50

feet high and 2 inches in diameter at the base. The sheaths of culms

and branches also are often very densely pubescent, but they vary

greatly in this respect and also in shape. The name pervaiiaUUs alludes to this variability. This valuable bamboo is less vigorous tlian

B. tuldoides. and the production of new culms less prolific.

The culms are reported to be used extensively in China in heavy

construction and for punting poles.

The cold endurance of B. pervariabilis has not been determined.

Bambusa polymorpha Munro.

B. pohjmorpha is a giant bamboo, native in Bengal and Burma.

It was introduced from India in 1924 by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture and is established at Vero Beach, Fla., and in Puerto

Rico and the Panama Canal Zone. It forms an exceedingly dense

clump of bluish waxy culms that attain heights in India of 75 to 90

feet, with basal diameters up to 6 inches; tliey bear masses of beautiful feathery foliage. The lower parts of culms in a mature clump

are free of branches. Branches and twigs are long and slender.

This species is one of the smallest and slenderest leaved—li/o to 71/2

inches long and ^^ to "/\& inch wide—of the tropical clump bamboos

yet introduced, except those of the fern-leaved forms of B. midtiplex.

In Florida the new shoots appear in autumn. The culm sheaths are

distinctive in having very prominent auricles, profusely margined

with long stiff bristles; the sheaths are exceedingly stiff and are

densely covered with fine appressed stiff hairs, that are rather easily

rubbed off, which leaves the dry sheath with a silvery-gray appearance.

Mature clumps of B. polymorplxa are reported to have survived a

minimum of about 28° F. in soutlierii Florida, but younger ones elsewhere were killed to the ground at that temperature.

Bambusa textilis McClure.

Chinese name, WONG CHTJK.

B. textilis is an exceptionally handsome, medium-tall bamboo from

southern China. It forms a compact clump of thin-walled but tough
44 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

culms with long: internodes. IIei<rhts up to 50 or more feet and basal

diameters of 2 inclies have been attained. The culms are erect and

usually sfraio-ht, with noddiii<z tips, and are free of branches to a

greater heidit than most l)anil)oos: tlie nodes are not prominent.

The branches, 6 to 10 at a node of tlie cidm, ditfer less in size than

do those of most other species of Ihimhu-^n. Foliage is distinctive and

attractive; leaves on the primary branch are up to 8 inclies long and

1 inch wide, while those on other branches and on twigs rarely exceed

6 inches by % inch.

In China the culms are split and used extensively in the weaving

of mats, hats, and basinets and also for making rope. The culm

characters indicate considerable potential value; the smaller culms,

wlien fully mature, could be used for light fishing poles.

B. fexfiUs is one of the most cold-hardy of the tropical, clump-type

bamboos; it survived a temperature of 13° F. in centi-al Florida witli

only sliglit leaf injury. It appears, however, to be susceptible to

some other unfavoral)le conditions, as in a more northern locality, in

wliich no lower temperatures were experienced during the period of

observation, the i:)lant has not thrived.

Bambusa tulda Roxb.

/)'. tuhht is a giant tropical bamboo, native to India. It was first

introduced in 1007, by the F.S. Department of Agriculture. In

India heiglits of 70 or more feet have been reported, and it lias attained Iieights of at least GO feet in central and southern Florida,

with maxinunn culm basal diameter of about 3 inches. There are

the usual 3 larger branches at a node of the culm, with 6 to 10 leaves

on each. Leaves are often large—3 to 10 inches long and I/2 <^o 1%

inches wide. The lower branches on large culms are leafless, much

reduced in length, and almost thornlike. Culm sheaths at the lower

nodes are broad and more or less arched at apex, with the blade

narrower tlian the sheath apex but with a pair of prominent, unetjual, crinkly or wavy auricles extending to edges of apex; sheaths

usually are more or less brown-hairy on the outside.

The culms of large size are straight, thick walled, and the Avood is

fairly dense. In Puerto Rico split fishing rods have been made from

them. The wood fiber is of only medium length, but if available in

suflicient quantity the culms could be a source of material for paper

pulp.

B. tulda is injured or killed at temperatures below 27° F.

A smaller thick-walled bamboo received as seeds under the name

B. tulda by the Department in 1927 from India was recorded under

P. I. 74413. It was distributed for many years under that name and

number. Although the plant is closely related to B. tulda and its
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 45

culm sheaths strongly resemble those of that species, numerous differences, in addition to size, have been observed that indicate that it

is probably a different but as yet undetermined species.

Bambusa tuldoides Munro {B. pallescem; B. guadua; Leleha

tiddoides).

PTJNTINGPOLE BAMBOO ; Chinese names, CHAANG KG CHUK,

NAI CHUK.

Puntingpole bamboo is a handsome semihai'dy bamboo, native to

southern China. It was known in southern California and Florida

for many years under the misidentification of B. thouarsii. Culms

are slender, erect, straight, fairly thick walled, and up to 55 feet

high and 214 inches in diameter at the base. There are several

ascending branches at each branching node of the culm—the usual

larger primary, a secondary smaller pair, and a few twiglike

branches. The dark-green oblong leaves, 5 to 12 on a branch or twig,

may range from about 21/0 to 5 inches long and %6 to % inch broad,

or, on ñrst-year culms, as much as 5 to 10 inches long and 1/2 to 1

inch broad.

In China the culms are used for many industrial purposes, such as

punting poles for propelling small boats and for the weaving of heavy

crates from the split culms. Largely because of its prolific production of culms, B. tuldoides is one of the most important economic

Ijamboos in the region of Canton ; however, in quality of wood it is

distinctly inferior to the related B. pervariahUis.

The foliage endures temperatures down to 19° F.

Bambusa ventricosa McClure.

BUDDHA'S BELLY BAMBOO ; BUDDHA BAMBOO.

Buddha bamboo is a semihardy bamboo from southern China. It

is commonly cultivated there as a dwarfed potted or tub plant ; however, it becomes a semigiant in the open under favorable conditions.

IMien dwarfed, by tub culture or by sterile or dry soil in the open,

and even in good soil with newly propagated plants, tlie internodes

of the culms are shortened and swollen in a characteristic manner.

This characteristic shape is the reason for its Chinese common name,

translated as Buddha's belly bamboo. Under these conditions the

height probably will not exceed 7 or 8 feet. In a favorable outdoor

environment the distortion of the internodes tends to disappear, and

the thick-walled culms have attained heights up to 55 feet, with maximum basal diameter of about 2i/4 inches, in southern Florida and

Puerto Rico. New shoots appear in late summer or early autumn.

On normal adult culms there are usually three larger branches and

often two or more smaller ones at a node, but on dwarfed culms there
46 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

is sometimes only a single branch at a node. The leaves are lYo to 5

inches long and ^e to % i»cli '^^de on dwarfed cnlms and 2 to 7

inches long on normal ones.

For indoor cnlture direct sunlight is necessary for a good part of

the day and good light for the remainder. Buddha bamboo in

Florida lias withstood a temperature of 17° F. without damage, but

at 1;î° it lost all leaves and the culms were injured severely or killed.

Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.

B. vulgarix is one of the most widely grown of all bamboos in

tropical and subtropical regions. Its popularity, no doubt, is partly

because of its attractiveness and its large size—70 to 80 feet high and

4 to 5 inches in diameter at the base—but also because of the comparative ease of propagation and cultivation in most localities that

are nearly or quite free from frost. Internodes are green at first, but

later they turn yellow; in one form they become largely suffused with

black. This sjiecies forms a much more open clump than others of

the clump type, because tlie rhizomes from which the new culms develop often extend up to 2^/^ feet horizontally before turning upward.

Branching is similar to that in most other species of Bumbusa.

Leaves are -i to 9 inches long and y^ to 1% inches wide. The sprouting season is late summer and early autumn in Florida, but the culms

do not shed their sheaths and extend their branches until spring.

The culm sheaths are higlily characteristic; the apex of the sheath is

very wide, with the center arching gently, and the ligules are of

medium height, with finely notched, shortly ciliate margins. Sheaths

are at first covered on the outside with short, appressed, stiff brown

hairs, most of which gradually fall off; the sheaths dry to a pale

brown. The sheath blades, on the lower sheaths especially, are much

narrower than the apex of tlie sheath, but a pair of prominent fringed

auricles at the base of each extend to the edges of the sheath; the

inside of the sheath blade is at first densely brown-hairy, but much

of this is lost on drying.

The wood of the culms is relatively soft and has rather low value

for construction purposes, though it has been much used for furniture and many otlier liousehold articles. The Avood fibers are long,

however, which makes this bamlwo valuable in frost-free regions as

a source of material for paper pulp.

Clumps have persisted for many years and grown to considerable

size in protected situations in Florida as far north as Gainesville

before being destroyed in a periodic freeze. This species suffers

foliage injury at 30° F. and at 28° usually is killed to the ground.

A smaller, attractive variety of this bamboo, B. vulgaris cv. VITTATA

McClure, having golden-yellow culms with a few slender brightgreen stripes, is also found rarely in southern Florida. It resembles
BAMBOO IX THE UXITED STATES 47

the typical form in other respects except that it is reported to be tven

less cold resistant.

Dendrocalamus asper (Schult.) Backer {Bamhusa áspera; GigantochJoa axpera; Dendrocalamux ßagellifer; Bumbusa macroculmis; Dendrocalamus macrocuhnis).

D. asper is a fairly cold-resistant, giant East Indian bamboo with

edible shoots. It is reported that the culms sometimes grow to more

than 100 feet tall and up to 8 incites in diameter at the base. Culms

attained 60 feet or more in height in Puerto Rico, and also at the

r.S. Plant Introduction Station near Miami, Fla. The culms are

relatively thin walled (the largest ones are scarcely %^ inch thick),

but they are usually straight or nearly so, even though inclined at an

angle in the outer part of a clump. Leaves are exceedingly variable

in size—from 5 inches long and % inch wide to as much as 18 inches

long and 3 inches wide on young culms in Java. The new shoots

appear in summer or early autumn in Florida. The lower culm

sheaths are very short in relation to their width, narrowing abruptly

to a narrow apex, with a high, fimbriate ligule; they are stiffly

leathery, densely covered outside with stiff brown hairs, and usinilly

dry to a dark or pale brown. The sheath blades are small, lanceshaped, reflexed, and rolled inward on the edges; auricles are rudimentary or lacking.

In Java D. asper is said to be grown more for its edible shoots than

for its culms; the shoots are dug before they emerge from the ground,

as they are then tender and are better tasting when cooked. Notwithstanding the relative thinness of the walls, the mature culms, because of their strength and durability, are preferred to other available woods for posts and scalfolding for houses in Java.

In Algiers this species is reported to have withstood many degrees

of frost. Cold injury has not been reported from southern Florida,

but its maximum cold endurance has not been determined. In Java

it is planted at altitudes up to 6,000 feet.

Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro (SinoraJamus Jafifforus).

Cantonese name, T'IM CHTJK (sweet bamboo).

D. ¡atifiorvs is a large, handsome, tropical and subtropical bamboo,

native to Formosa. Culms are thick walled, up to 50 or more feet

high, and nearl}' 5 inches in diameter at the base. The leaves are

rather large (6 to 10 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide) and rounded

at the base, with long-acuminate tips.

This bamboo is grown widely in the region of Canton, China, for

its excellent edible shoots, which are robust, relatively solid, and

imusually free of any unpleasant taste when raw. The shoots of D.

hitiflorus are rated more highly than are those of Bamhusa beechey-
48 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

ana, another important edible bamboo cultivated largely in the same

area. They appear in autumn in a region with cool winters.

The frost resistance of this bamboo is not yet known, since the

first successful introduction was of recent date.

Dendrocalamusstrictus (Roxb.) Nees {BamhusastHcta).

CALCUI'TA BAMBOO ; "MALE" BAMBOO.

Calcutta bamboo is a tall, tropical bamboo, long in cultivation in

India and eastward, with slender, thick-walled or rarely solid culms.

In the Americas the culms grow to 60 or more feet high and have

basal diameters of 21/4 to 21/2 inches; in tropical Asia they are reported sometimes to grow nearly 100 feet high. The different forms

grown are highly variable in several characters besides thickness of

culm walls, though the wood is always dense and hard when mature.

There is much variability in the straightness of culm, especially in

the slightly zigzag character at the nodes. The primary branch at

each branching node is frequently much larger than any of the three

to six smaller ones. The various forms of the species vary in the

number of leaves on a branch or twig; there may be 5 to 7, 6 to 10,

or 7 to V?> leaves. Leaves on adult culms average much larger in some

forms than in others; the smallest are about 2 to 5 inches long and

% to 34 inch wide and the largest, 3 to 10 inches long and % to li^

inches wide. Sprouting of new shoots in Florida is in autumn, but

the culms do not shed their sheaths and extend their branches until

spring. Culm sheaths are leathery to rigid and more or less densely

brown- or blackish-hairy or bristly and gradually or abruptly narrowing toward the apex. The sheath blades are as wide at the base as

the apex of the sheath and usually inseparable. The ligules are

low, truncate.

A bamboo long known in the trade as "Calcutta cane," formerly

the preferred bamboo for the manufacture of split fishing rods, has

until recently been sujaposed to belong to I>endrocalamuH stiictiis; but

there now seem to be good reasons for believing that it is an entirely

different bamboo. The name "Calcutta bamboo,"' therefore, used in

the heading probably is not appropriate ; it is used here only because

of the belief that has prevailed in the past and the lack of a current

alternative. The name "male" bamboo in PjUglish is widely used in

India. A ]\Ialay name, translated "stony bamboo," doubtless is in

allusion to the hardness of the wood.

D. strictus is cultivated extensively in India in a manner to produce

many small culms ; these, it is understood, are used for making cudgels,

which are used in great numbers. The culms are also considered a

good material for paper pulp. The adaptability of these heavy culms

for use in the natural form as fishing poles remains to be determined.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 49

D. stñctus can be grown successfully only in areas almost free from

frost, as it is injured or killed at temperatures below 27° F.

A superior form of Dendrocalumux stiictufi with unusually straight

and otlierwise desirable culms, growing at the Federal Exi)eriinent

Station at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, has recently been recognized and

has been recorded under P.I. 254923.

Sinarundinarianitida (Mitf.) Nakai {Arundinarianitida).

S. nitida is an exceptionally cold-resistant bamboo, native in

Szechuan and Kansu Provinces, China, at altitudes up to 10,000 feet

on the northern slopes of mountains. Culms have reached a height

of 20 feet and a basal diameter exceeding % inch in England. They

are slender and blackish purple. The brilliant-green leaves are

small—2 to o inches long and up to 1/2 inch wide.

The slender culms were reported by the explorer Frank N. Meyer

to be used in China by the local population in making baskets, sieves,

and light fencing and even in house construction.

S. nitida is reported to endure more cold in England without injury than some of the hardy running bamboos. Being of nonrunning

type, it will be of particular interest for testing as an ornamental in

northern localities having rather mild winters.

Other Clump-Type Bamboos in Cultivation

Approximate

height

Fea

Bamhusa boniopsis McClure 7

dissimulator McClure 45

flemosa Munro. Branches thorny 50

longispiculata Gamble 45

malingensis McClure 25

mutabilis McClure 20

rwii/a McClure. Branches thorny 50

( ephalostachyum pergracile Munro 55

Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro 100

membranaceus Munro , 75

latiflorus Munro 50

Elytrostachys typica McClure. Vinehke climbing culms 50

Gigantochloa apus (Schult.) Kurz 65

levis (Blanco) Merr. {Bambusa levis) 50

verticillata (Willd.) Munro {Bambusa verticillata) 80

Guadua amplexijolia Kunth 60

angustifolia Kunth 100
50 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Approwimate

" height

Feet

Melocanna haccijera (Roxb.) Kurz {Bamhusa baccifera; Melocanna bambusoides). Clump habit very open 65

Ochlandra travancorica Gamble 20

Schizostachyum Junghomii McClure 33

Sinarundinaria murielae (Gamble) Nakai. Semihardy 12

Thamnocalamus aristatus (Gamble) E. G. Camus 13

Propagation of Clump-Type Bamboos

There are three common methods of propagating the clump-forming bamboos. Each is best done in the spring, and the last two,

especially, should not be done until after the weather has become

steadily warm. The three methods are:

Division of the dump.—K clump with culms of rather large diameter will require dividing by chopping or sawing, but a clump of

very slender culms can often be divided with a sharp knife or a pair

of pruning shears. A division may consist of one or more culms, with

the rooty base ; the culms usually should be cut back to 2 feet or less

in height. Ideally, in a nursery operation, all clumps would be kept

small, so that division with pruning shears usually would be possible. However, if large clumps are to be divided, a method of loosening the clump that has been successfully used in the clay soils at the

Federal p]xi)eriment Station in Puerto Eico, at Mayaguez, may be

used. In this method, after cutting back all culms, several holes are

bored obliquely downward from the edge toward the center of the

clump and sticks of dynamite placed at the bottoms of the holes are

exploded simultaneously. This loosening of the clump greatly facilitates the division into units suitable for planting.

Cuttings of the culm.—This method will not be successful with all

the clump bamboos, but it is with many, especially the genus Bambusa. It is useful especially when the culms are of rather large diameters. The culm is sawed into short sections, usually single-node

sections with a small leafy branch at the node; the cuts are made

about the middle of the internodes. The hollow ends of the section

are filled with wet soil or sand and the cuttings planted horizontally,

with the branch toward one side, 2 to 4 inches deep in very damp to

wet soil (or sand), with part of the branch extending above the

surface, in a very warm location. Rooting and sprouting from the

bud at the node should start within 30 days.

Layering the culm.—This consists in cutting out an entire culm,

usually of fairly large size and preferably not more than 3 years of
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 51

age, with its rooty base attached, and burying it about 6 inches deep in

a trench in warm moist soil. One or two small leafy branches are left

at each node and these are left projecting above the surface of the

ground. With a clump bamboo adapted to this mode of propagation,

sprouting and rooting at most of the nodes should begin within 4 to

6 weeks. After several months, when the roots are well developed,

the soil is removed near the middle of each internode aiul the culm

carefully sawed through at these points. Transplanting usually

should be deferred for a few months longer, to allow for further

root growth. This method has been in use for species of Bambusa

and for Dendrocalamus strictus.

A fourth possible way of propagating some clump bamboos—a

method not yet widely known and applicable only to certain speciesconsists of making a single cutting from the basal parts of large

brandies, including the enlarged base (which may already have root

initials more or less developed). This method, in use among Chinese

growers in the region of Canton, was first reported in 1925. More

recently its use experimentally has been reported by the Federal

Experiment Station, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico {9).'^

CULTURAL INFORMATION

Bamboo plants from the nursery may be transplanted to the field,

preferably with a ball of earth, in the spring before sprouting time.

The site for planting should be fairly fertile and well drained. Bamboo is not recommended for marginal land. When different species

of hardy bamboos are grown they must be kept well apart—at least

40 to 50 feet—in order to avoid intermixing within a few j-ears, as

the rhizomes of many of them, after they become established, spread

10 to 25 feet a year in all directions if soil conditions are favorable.

Plants of species of the the genus PhyJlosfachys that grow to giant

size (50 to 70 feet high) should be spaced 12 to 15 feet apart each way

and in an area not less than 60 to 75 feet across. Plants of runningbamboos that grow 16 to 25 feet high may be spaced as close as 8 by

8 or 10 feet, in an area not less than 30 feet across. In certain of the

running bamboos, such as P. aurea (fishpole bamboo), P. nigm (black

bamboo), Semiarundinaria fastuosa (Narihira bamboo), and Arundinaria shnonii, which may reach heights of 20 to 30 feet, the rhizomes

are much less rampant in growth than many others and will produce

culms of maximum sizes in somewhat smaller areas than the more

rapid spreading species.

In general, the distance across the area allotted for any bamboo

clump or grove should be at least a little greater than the expected

'Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, p. 74.
52 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

maximum height of culm. The rhizomes in mature plantings of the

medium-sized and larger species of ranning bamboos usually will

extend at least 15 to 25 feet beyond the limits of the grove, at depths

of from a few inches to 4 feet, depending upon the texture of the soil

and the age of the grove.

When transplanting has been properly done, new culms at least

double the height of those of the first year may be expected in the

second year. The rhizomes then begin spreading. Each succeeding

season, under favorable conditions for growth, culms of increasingly

greater height and diameter will be produced until the maximum is

reached. For tlie largest bamboos under the best conditions for

growth it will take at least 10 to 15 years for a grove to produce

culms of full size. Lower growing species can be grown to mature

size in a shorter time.

Cultivation of a new bamboo grove is necessary for 2 or 3 years.

Some crop plants may be grown between the rows for the first year or

two, or a cover crop may be planted. After this, the cutting of grass

and weeds (which should be left to decay on the ground) usually

will be all that is required until the shade of the bamboo becomes

sufficient to check other growth. Care must be taken not to injure the

running rhizomes in cultivation. For small areas irrigation should,

if possible, be practiced in any prolonged dry period, especially if the

drought occurs just before or during the sprouting season and if

vigorous growth is desired. Fertilizer may consist of well-rotted

manure applied in the late winter, supplemented a few weeks later

with a nitrogen fertilizer such as ammonium nitrate, nitrate of soda,

or cottonseed meal. In the absence of manure, a complete commercial fertilizer (formula 7-6-5, 6-6-6, or 5-7-5) may be applied early

in spring, with plenty of dead leaves; the need for leaves will be

supplied in part by the bamboo. Applications of fertilizer may start

with 600 to 800 pounds per acre and for a giant bamboo should

gradually Ije increased to about 1 ton as more and larger culms are

produced.

The sprouting period for most of the hardy bamboos usually is

during April and May, though in the gulf region, particularly if the

early spring is warm and moist, some species may begin to send up

shoots in IMarch. When the spring is cold or dry, sprouting is much

retarded or may even be almost suppressed. In many seasons, small

shoots may continue to appear at intervals until autumn. All livestock eat the young tips of the shoots greedily if allowed access to a

bamboo grove and should therefore be excluded during the spring

sprouting period. A bamboo grove should be protected from fire, as

relatively little heat will kill the culms.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 53

HARVESTING AND PREPARING BAMBOO FOR

MARKET

As mentioned earlier, bamboo ciüms in «jeneral and those of tlie

hardy running kinds in particuhir, -whether hirge or small, differ

from other woody plants in that they attain their fidl diameter wlien

only a few inches high and make their entire growth in height \vithin

about 5 to 8 weeks. However, the wood of the culms during the first

2 years is comparatively soft—the fiber cells being at first very thin

walled and filled with sap. During the third year the wood completes its hardening, through the thickening of the walls of the

microscopic cells, so that by the end of the third season, and not

before, the wood has acquired its maximum strength and durability.

Therefore, the culms should not be cut before that time for any

purpose for which strength and durability are important. Giant

bamboo culms usually live 5 to 12 years and sometimes much longer.

It is especially important that American-grown l)amboo shipped to

commercial users or handlers be uniform in quality. The Department has received complaints from users of bamboo on the lack of

strength and durability of some of the bamboo obtained from American sources. This seems definitely to indicate immaturity of the

wood. Therefore, Ijamboo should not be cut until it is ?> years old to

avoid reason for this dissatisfaction; otherwise, a prejudice against

domestic bamboo may be built up that will be difficult to overcome.

To avoid error or difficulty in judging the time to cut bamboo

culms, the grower must know the age of all culms, or at least all under

3 years old, in his grove. This will require that the new culms that

grow each spring be marked during the season to show the year in

which they came up. They are easily recognized throughout the first

season by their fresh bright appearance, but after that it becomes

difficult, and, finally, impossible to distinguish the culms of different

ages by their appearance.

Xew bamboo culms can be marked in any of several ways. One

way is to rub the thin waxy film from a small area of culm surface

with a piece of coarse cloth and then, with India ink and a camel'sluiir brush, paint on the figures for that year (for exam])le, 61 or

simply 1). A white oil paint, applied with a i/ó-inch brush, instead

of the India ink, also has been used with satisfactory results by an

experienced grower of bamboo in the gidf region. The ink or paint

marks should last at least 3 or 4 years under ordinary conditions.

Another way is to stamp the figure lightly into the surface tissue by

means of a small steel die and a hammer. This gives a permanent

mark; tlie impression need not be so deep as to do real injury to the

culm. If the mark is made at the same level on all culms it can easily
54 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

be found. As it can be quickly made, some growers may prefer this

method.

In thinning a bamboo grove the aim should be to prevent crowding

of the culms and also excessive shade but at the same time to avoid

letting in enough sunlight to burn the surface of the culms. In a

mature grove of giant bamboo the culms probably are best spaced

4 to 5 feet apart on the average. All culms to be removed should be

cut with a saw, horizontally, and very close to the ground.

Precise information on the inethods used in the Orient in the

curing and other preparation of bamboo culms for the market is not

available. However, certain facts are known and from these and

reported experiences in this country the following suggestions, which

ha\'e particular reference to bamboos of the genus Phyllostachys, are

made.

Removal of Branches

A convenient method of removing the branches is to cut into the

lower side of the pair of branches, close to their base, with a stroke

of a liacksaw with about 24 teeth to the inch. Then snap the branches

on', either by a slight jerk in the opi^osite direction or by means of a

light tap with the back of the saw frame to the upper side of the

branches. The depth of the cut with the saw should be about % the

thickness of the thicker branch—not deep enough to scar the culm.

Straightening or Bending of Culms

Straightening ivith heat.—If a fresh culm, or pole, requires

straightening in any part this can be done rather quickly by the suitable application of heat and pressure. Heating may be done (1)

over charcoal fire, (2) by means of a carefully applied blowtorch or

Bunson burner to a temperature that does not cause scorching, or

(3) with steam. The heating with steam for 10 to 15 minutes, if

facilities are available and especially if nnich straightening is to be

done, is undoubtedly the best. A bend, whether short or long, must

be heated and straightened throughout a large part of tlie area to

give satisfactory results. A special wooden straightening tool is used

ha the Orient. It is employed in much the same way as the "hickey"

is used in bending electrical conduit. ^Yiú\e the bamboo culm is still

hot, the waxy coating on the surface should be wiped oif thoroughly

with a coarse cloth before it hardens. This gives the culm a pleasing

and uniform yellowish color. After the culm is straightened, and

cleaned the cooling can be hastened by applying cold wet cloths;

however, this will rarely be necessary.

Straightening without heat.—Tyro other, but slower, methods of

straightening bamboo poles also have been used more or less successfully. One IS the old and widely known practice with the native
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 55

bamboo of suspending the freshly cut curved pole by the tip in the

shade and attachino; a sufficient ^veight to the lower end to straighten

the curve. The process may require 2 to 4 months—the time required depends largely on the dryness of the situation. The second

method consists essentially in laying the green pole on or against a

flat surface and reducing any curves by suitably applied continuous

pressures during the period necessary for thorough drying and "setting" in the straightened form. This may be done on a floor, a

board, or even against the side of a timber. Binding the pole to a

line of nails driven at l(i-inch intervals into such a surface and also

forcing the pole into contact with the surface wherever it may curve

from it has given good results. Poles that have dried have been

straightened by this method after being thoroughly soaked in water.

Drying, or Curing

Drying, or curing, of bamboo culms should take place in a shaded,

dry, well-ventilated place. Thorough drying usually will require

several months; the time will be determined largely by the humidity

and temperature of the air. The culms should be laid horizontally

on a rack, with the supports for the culms at intervals of a few feet

to avoid bending. In quantity drying, the culms may be placed with

Ijutts and tips alternating and tied in bundles to prevent the development of new curves.

Culm sections of large diameter that are to be used in making

split Ashing rods will need to cure for a considerably longer period.

It may be possible to shorten the time required, however, by splitting

the sections into halves.

An Oriental Method of Surface Finishing

In the Orient bamboo culms are made uniform in appearance by

scouring by hand with wet sand and exposing them on all sides, in

a nearly vertical position, to direct sunlight for a limited period.

During the exposure the culms are gradually turned—about one-third

of the way at a time—in order to obtain even coloring from the sun.

The length of time of exposure required will vary with the intensity

of the sunlight ; a total of 12 hours or more in each position is sometimes needed. Protection from rain and dew is provided. "Where

heating for straightening purposes is not being done, this oriental

method may sometimes be used.

BAMBOO PESTS

Bamboo in general is singularly free from destructive or highly injurious pests. The organisms that do from time to time attack bam-
56 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

boo and cause damage in different Avays are of several types : Fungi,

which usually affect the new growth, including annual new twigs and

leaves; insects and mites that attack the new growth and other insects

that bore into stored bamboo and sometimes into articles made from

it ; nematodes, or minute eelworms, whicli sometimes infect the roots;

and rabbits, which when abundant at sprouting time may destroy

many young shoots by gnawing into them and eating part of the

succulent interior. A few owners of mature bamboo groves have

written of the congregating of great numbers of grackles, cowbirds,

or starlings in their groves at night in some seasons, which was disliked by some but not by others. Of the several groups of harmful

organisms, only the fungi contain any members considered seriously

destructive ; of the two known important diseases, one—bamboo smut

—luis not as yet become established in tliis country or in the Western

Hemisphere so far as known. Bamboo scales assume serious importance only when, because of neglect, infestation of the plants becomes heavy. Some further information concerning the few diseases

and insect enemies of bamboo is given in the following.

Bamboo Diseases

Bamboo Smut

Bamboo smut {Ustilago shiraiana P. Henn.) is a parasitic fungus

related to tlie smuts of corn, wheat, oats, and several other kinds of

grasses. It was accidentally introduced in plants of the genus

PhyUostachyfi obtained from Japan in 1909. A few months later it

was discovered, and the affected plants as far as recognized were all

destroyed except two that were grown for a time in one of the pathological greenhouses of the Department for study of the disease. The

disease reappeared at two points in the field about 6 years later.

All infected plants again were immediately destroyed by spraying

with oil and burning, and there has been no further outbreak of bamboo smut in the United States since that time. The smut is not

known to occur on bamboos other than those of the genus Phyllostaehys.

The smut occurs only on new growtli of the bamboo—new twigs

and leaves. Tlie twigs first apirear somewhat swollen, and growth

is checked. Later the sootlike spore masses, or fruiting bodies, break

through. The effect produced cannot be mistaken for any other

disease. No evidence has been obtained here that tlie disease is spread

by the spores, though with other diseases that would be expected.

The way the disease showed itself on plants kept under observation

in quarantine for several years suggested that the mycelium of the

fungus lives perennially in the rhizome of the bamboo, and reports

from Japan indicated tliat tliis is the case. Eradication is the only
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 57

remedy, and it must be complete. It is not enough to cut down tlie

culms and destroy them, but all rhizomes must be dug and burned.

Bamboo ¡liants for many years have not been allowed entry into

the United States except under strict quarantine regulations, and

it seems unlikely that there will be further trouble from smut.

Bamboo Rust

More than a dozen species of rust fungi have been reported on

bamboos in ditlerent parts of the world, but so far only one, Puccinia

phyllostachydis Kusano {P. inelanocephala Syd.), is known to be

present in this country. ]\Iost rusts are destructive and are controlled

with difficulty, but P. phyJlo-stachydis, which is only known to attack

species of the genus Phyllosfaehys, does not often cause serious damage.

It is somewhat common on bamboos of this group almost wherever

grown in the united States. The disease attacks the new leaves;

niunerous brown powdery spots appear on the under surface with

corresponding yellow discolorations on the upper side. "When badly

atFected the leaves shrivel and dry up. The powdery material on the

under surface of the leaves forms the summer spores (uredospores),

or reproductive bodies of the fungus. A pathologist of the Department also found the winter spores (teleutospores) on dead fallen

leaves. The effect of the rust is to check growth by injury to the

leaves, many of which may be shed prematurely.

There is no known treatment for the control of bamboo rust when

once established. However, when new plants are propagated, they

should lie carefully examined before replanting or shipping and any

rust-infected leaves removed. A nursery plot for the propagation of

Phyllostachys plants should be located at a considerable distance from

any area of infected plants that may be in the vicinity. Control of

bamboo rust by application of fungicides has not been studied, but it

is known that Puec'mia species attacking cereals can be fairly well

controlled by dusting with elemental sulfur or spraying with zineb at

intervals of a week or less.

Studies on control of cereal rust with eradicative fungicides are in

progress and several compounds have been effective, but all are phytotoxic to cereals in some degree.

Melanconium Culm Disease

A disease that causes the death of medium-sized and large culms

of large species of the genus Pliyllof<farhys has been observed occasionally for many years at the Ignited States Plant Introduction

Station near Savannah, Ga.. and at otlier points in the South. What

seems to be the causal organism appears to be identical with the

imperfect fungus Melanrovhun hamhiime Turc, reported earlier as

the cause of a similar disease in Italy. The disease usually, or at
58 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

least often, does not reveal its presence or its effects until the new

culm has reached nearly its full height. The internodes near the

ground turn purplish black or sometimes brown. The discoloration,

not sharply defined, begins at the base of the internode and gradually

extends around and upward to the next node. The culm eventually

dies and the leaves dry up. The immature wood of the culm is found

to be permeated with mycelial threads. These constitute the vegetative parts of the fungus. It seems doubtful that this type of fungus

attacks healthy plant tissue, and it is thought that affected culms

probably have been previously' weakened in some way. Invasion of

the fungus has been rejiorted where the soft wood of the young culm

has been bruised or injured by cuts.

Insect Pests of Living Bamboo'

Tlie principal insects that infest living bamboo in the United States

are of the sucking type.* They feed by extracting juices from the

leaves and stems. The most important ones are scales. They, however, assume serious importance only when, because of neglect, infestation of tlie plants becomes heavy. Other insects of minor importance are the long-tailed mealybug, aphids, a leaf-rolling caterl>illar, and a roundheaded prionid beetle. Also certain mites attack

bamboo.

Bamboo Scales

Asterolecanium bambusae (Bdv.)

The bamboo scale A-sferolecanium bambusae (Bdv.) is the most

common and injurious pest of growing bamboo. It was introduced

from the Orient and attacks the clump-type Bambirsa vulgaris and

related species, as well as several of the hardy running bamboos.

The adult female has an oval, moderately convex body fis slightly

less than one-eighth inch long and half as wide. Tlie scale is smooth,

glossy, semitransparent, and colorless or tinged with green or yellow

The posterior is drawn out into a small blunt point. The mar<TÍna]

fringe consists of a double series of short, pinkish, glossy filaments

whicli appear in pairs.

The insect is found at many places in California, in the Southern

States, particularly in Florida, and is intercepted at quarantine stations. In California, it is of little economic importance.

ofV'o'r;s"ln"^°Lirr'I'''r;'' Tl '""'""'" ""' "" -'• «*• «''"^^''- entomologist, Division

on'baTbofw/r/nkÜr;:","" ""' ''"""' ooneern.n« snek.n, insects and mites found

Mites leoorded from B-.n •' "T'V"''""" "'' '''^^ «""^'""^ ^I-^'«. "In-^'"'^*« »°<1

and ^^tluu'^'^S^cZ^:.:^^;^^ ^r\ "''? •^"^"^'^ "* '''"''' Distribution . 10 pp. Feb. 1947. ^""ntnos. U.S. Dept. Agr. Insect Pest Survey Spec. Sup. 2,
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 59

Asterolecanium miliaris robustum Green

A. miliaris rohustum Green is closely related to ^4.. hamhusae. In

Florida, it has been found on species of Bambiu^a. The female scale

is long and narrow—about one-hfth of an inch long and one-third as

wide. It is moderately convex, glossy, and varies from semitransparent and colorless to translucent and tinged with yellow or green.

The posterior end is drawn out into a blunt point, and tlie marginal

fringe is short and imperfect. It infests both sides of the leaves.

A closely related scale. A. miliaiis miliaris (Bdv.), has been found

on species of Bamhusa and on Dendrocalamns stríctus in Florida, as

well as in the Tropics. A species of another genus, Aclerda anmdinariae McConnell, has been found on Annulinaria tecta in South

Carolina.

Antonina crawi Ckll.

The cottony bamboo scale, Antonina crawi Ckll., attacks the new

twigs: it makes the bamboo unsightly and sometimes stunts its growth.

It infests bamboos of the genus PhylloHtachy.s, particularly the black

bamboo, P. nigra, and the common fishpole bamboo, P. aurea, as well

as Pseitdosasa japónica.

The adult females are one-eighth to nearly one-fourtli inch in length

and are completely covered with a thick, wliite cottony coat, which

makes them very conspicuous. During May and June they collect in

rather large masses in the leaf axils, where they deposit their eggs.

Shortly after the young crawlers hatcli they make their way to the

leaves and tender new growth, where they settle down and feed. This

scale has been found on bamboos in California, the Southern States,

and as far north as New Jersey.

Kuwanaspis pseudoleucaspis (Kuw.) {Lcucaspis tamhusac Kuw.)

A Japanese scale, Kuœanaspis pseudoleucaspin (Kuw.), is found

on bamboo of the genus Phyllostachys in the United States. The

female is about one-eighth inch long, slender, and is nearly parallel

sided. It is convex, rather thick, and usually straight but sometimes

curved. Its color varies from white to light gray and its skin has a

brownish cast at one end. This scale has been found at Riverton, N.J.,

and in different parts of Florida.

Other Scale Insects

Other scale insects on bamboo in this country are Chaetococcus

lamiusae (Mask.) on Bamhusa arundinacea and B. tidda:, Kuwanaspis howardi (Cooley) on Phyllostachys nigra cv. Henon at San

Antonio, Tex.; Odonaspis penicillata Green on Bamhusa multiplex in

New Orleans, La., in 1910, and subsequently in Georgia, Alabama,

Mississippi, Louisiana, and California; and O. secretus (Ckll.) on

Pseudosasa japónica in Riverton, N.J.
60 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 19 3, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Control of Scale Insects

Where the control of scale insects is deemed advisable, the most

heavily infested canes should be cut and burned and the more lightly

infested ones should be sprayed in the spring when the young crawlers are present. A white-oil emulsion diluted to 1 to 2 percent oil

and fortified with 11/2 pints of 50 percent malathion emulsiñable solution per 100 gallons of spray should be used for spraying. It should

be repeated weekly about three times to kill all the crawlers as they

liatcli.

Long-Tailed Mealybug

The long-tailed mealybug, Pseudocoecus adonklum (L.), attacks

many plants, including bamboo, and is common on ornamentals. The

female adult is oval and about one-eighth inch long. Its body is

grayish to light yellow and covered with a fine powdery, waxlike

whitish secretion. This species is distinguished by the unusually long

filaments, or tassels, about its body. Those around the margin are

often equal in lengtli to half the width of the body. The four

posterior tassels give the insect the appearance of having a long tail,

and the middle pair are often longer than the body. This species is

widely distributed in this country and probably was introduced from

Australia.

Control of this mealybug is made difficult by its waxy protective

covering. "Water applied under strong pressure to heavily infested

culms will remove some of them. A 5 percent DDT water emulsion,

repeated a few days later, will give complete control on bamboo

without any noticeable burn, according to Morrill and Otanes (5).

In tests by others the water dispersible form of DDT proved to be

ineffective. Malathion, applied at the rate of 4 pounds of the 25

percent wettable powder per 100 gallons of water and repeated two

or three times at 7- to 10-day intervals, is also effective and safe to

handle. Since ants are largely responsible for the dissemination of

mealybugs, it is important to control ants. This is done by the use

of chlordane in the form of a spray or dust (7).

Bamboo Aphids

The bamboo aphid, or the adult bamboo plant louse, MyzocalUs

arundicolens Clarke, lias been found on Pseiidosasa jajwnica and on

species of Sosa and Bambusa. It is about one-tenth inch long and

pale yellow, with some light-brown and dusky markings. The young

nym]ihs show little or no markings. The insect attacks the underside

of the leaf blades, often in large colonies. It causes considerable

damage by weakening the plants. The excess sugar-water excreted

by the insect is a favored medium on which a sooty mold develops;

this gives the leaves a smutty appearance and makes them unsightly.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 61 .

This apliid is reported from the central and southern parts of

California.

Another species of Myzocallh^ M. arundinariae Essi<x, has been reported on undetermined species of Anindmaria and Bamhusa in

California. The aphid Anuraphis arundinariae Tissot has been

found on Arundinaria tecta at Gainesville, Fla., and another aphid,

Dryopeia morrisoin Baker, has been found on an undetermined species

of Phyllostachys in Maryland.

Aphids are controlled by sprayino; with malathion, as mentioned

previously for other suckinf; insects.

Leaf-Rolling Caterpillar

The leaf-rolling caterpillar. Crocidophora pu.^tuliferaUs Lederer,

rendered useless as much as 25 percent of the leaves on the culms of

Arundinaria. tecta and of an undetermined species of Semianindinaria

at the U.S. Plant Introduction Station near Savannah, Ga. Such

injury can be prevented by spraying the foliage with DDT, before the

leaves are rolled, at the rate of 2 pounds of the wettable powder per

100 gallons of water.

Roundheaded Prionid Beetle

The roundheaded prionid beetle larva, or grub, occasionally damages the rhizomes of bamboo of the genus PhylloHtachys. It first

feeds on the exterior surface and then bores into and subsequently

mines the rhizomes. Such injury has been observed in bamboo groves

located in the vicinity of Savannah, Ga. To control these beetles

the infested rhizomes, which are revealed by the wilting young culms,

must be dug up and destroyed.

Common Bamboo Mite^

The common bamboo mite, Schizotetranychus celariu.^ (Banks), resembles somewhat the red spiders of the genus Tetranyrhiifi and makes

small white webs on bamboo leaves. It chiefly infests bamboos of the

genus Phyllostachys, but it is also found to some extent on several

related genera, including Pseudosasa. No serious injury has been

noted either in this country or Japan, its native home.

This mite is confined to the leaf sheaths for a period of 8 to 10

months and is not found on the stems near the ground or in rhizomes

or other parts of the plant below ground. It migrates in May and

June. It is found in Florida and in California.

For control, the sheaths should be sprayed with aramite at the rate

of 2 pounds of the 15 percent wettable powder per 100 gallons of water.

For control in propagation, the rhizomes of the preceding year's

"Mites, although not true Insects, are close relatives of them and, therefore, are considered in this discussion.
62 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

growth should be lifted in November or December, when the plants

are dormant, and those pieces that contain live eyes or buds should

be selected. These should be treated by immersing them for 10 minutes in hot water at 122° F. and then either heeled in sand previously

sterilized by heating to 167° for 1 hour or in sawdust, where they

should be kept cool until planting time in the spring.

Bamboo Sheath Mite "

The bamboo sheath mite, Steneotarsonemus phyllojyhonis (Ewing),

causes injury by adliering and feeding on the stalk of the terminal

leaf of any of the PhyUoHtacliyfi bamboos. It is flattened, reddish,

and minute. It lives by sucking the juices from the tender growing

parts. During dry periods or when cultural conditions are poor it

aborts the leaves, checks the growth, and kills the terminal buds of

the branclilets. Apparently no damage is caused when conditions

prevail that promote vigorous growth and when the plants receive

proper care. The mite migrates from the latter part of April through

June in Florida. It is not widely distributed in this country.

For eradication of this mite in an established planting, it is necessary to cut, gather, and burn all leaf-bearing bamboo, preferably

in early spring, before migration of the mite begins.

The mite can be controlled in bamboo propagation by dipping

rhizome cuttings or small young plants suspected of infestation in

hot water at 122° F. for 5 minutes.

Insect Pests of Harvested Bamboo "

The principal enemies of harvested bamboo are species of bostrychid beetles belonging to the genus Dhioderufi. In Puerto Rico and to

a lesser extent in this country, D. minutus (F.) causes the most damage. Others of lesser importance are the lyctus powder-post beetles,

Lyctus spp., and the roundheaded bamboo borer, CMowphoms annularis ( F.).

Bamboo Powder-Post Beetles

The bamboo powder-post beetle, Dinodenis minutus, attacks most

species of bamboo {G). Since Bamhum vulgarisi contains the most

starch of any species tested, it is more attractive to the beetle than are

the eleven other tropical bamboos tested. This beetle is only about

one-eighth inch long and one-third as wide. It is hard shelled and

has a parallel-sided body, which is amber brown to black. It occurs

to some extent in Florida and Louisiana, but it is quite abundant in

the Caribbean area. It is frequently found in infested bamboo

" See footnote 9, p. 61.

" See footnote 7, p. 58.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 63

products at ports of entry. Sometimes tliese products contain live

insects and reach the interior of tlie country. Tliey usually come

from the Orient, particularly China, Japan, and India.

The adult beetle usually entei's the fresh-cut wood at breaks in the

surface or at a culm-sheath scar, by makina- a circular hole in the

surface and tunneling into the culm. The female beetle deposits her

white translucent, elongate eggs in the softer, pithy tissue of the

culm, the inner three-fourths of which contains starch, the insect's

principal food.

According to Plank (G) infestation frequently occurs within 24

hours after the culms are cut if placed in a building for drying and

storage. However, if dead, dying, or fresh-cut culms are left uprinjht

in clumps in the tield with foliage intact for curing, they are rarely

attacked. Tlie culms are kept olí the ground by inserting a wooden

prop in the base, with a nail driven through the jirop to prevent it

from breaking through the nodal partition above. During the drying

period the starch is slowly depleted from the culms, which makes

tliem mucli less attractive to the beetles.

This beetle a2:)pears to have no definite generations in Puerto Rico.

Most eggs are laid between jNIay and August. The average life cycle

requires 51 days (eggs 3-7, larvae 41, pupae 4). Some beetles begin

lo oviposit 17 days after emergence and lay as many as 100 eggs in

41 days. The beetles emerge through small circular holes that they

make in the surface of the rind.

Application of 5 percent DDT in kerosene, brushed on freshly

harvested culms, reduced internodal infestation by Dinodenis by 94

percent for ^i/o months, without injury to the wood or to personnel.

Application of 5 percent DDT in diesel fuel oil, applied as a 10-

minute dip, reduced infestation 98 percent for 3 months, 91 percent

for 12 months, and was still toxic at the end of 3 years. Where splitting occurs during seasoning, a second treatment should be made at

the end of 2i/4 to 3 months. "Wettable DDT powders can be used

where oils adversely alïect the gluing of products made from bamboo.

The beetle has few known parasites or predators, and they have

little effect upon its populations.

Lyctus Powder-Post Beetles

One group of insects that is found associated with the dried bamboo

is that of the lyctus powder-post beetles. Three species are known to

attack bamboo. They are L. planicollis Lee, Trogoxylon aequaJe

(AVollaston), and L. catiheanus Lesne. The first-mentioned species

occurs not only over the entire counti-y but is cosmopolitan ; the second

one is established in Florida and in the southwestern United States;

and the last one occurs in the Caribbean area.
64 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OP AGRICULTURE

The wiiioed adult beetles of all three species are small (threesixteenths of an inch in length), slender, somewhat flattened, and reddish brown to nearly black. They seek starch present in the wood

and deposit their eggs in the pores. The starch is stored in the softer

pithy wood in the inner three-fourths of the cross section of the

culm ; the outer rind does not contain any starch and is not attacked.

The eggs hatch in about a week, and the larvae begin to mine the

starch-containing wood, gradually reducing it to a flourlike, or powdery, consistency. Species, quantity of starch present, favorable

temperatures, and high humidity determine the length of the life

cycle, which varies from 3 to 9 months. The optimum moisture

requirement is from 12 to 15 percent.

Measures taken to reduce the starch content of the wood help to

prevent attack by the lyctus beetles, as well as by species of Dinoderus, since it seeks wood high in starch content. With low starch

content, relatively few eggs are deposited, the larvae develop slowly,

and small beetle populations result.

The most effective control is obtained by chemically treating the

wood, before it becomes attacked, with a chlorinated hydrocarbon

insecticide such as DDT, as mentioned for Dinoderus. For treating

fui-niture, it may prove to be more desirable to use a refined kerosene,

such as ultrasene or deobase, instead of ordinary kerosene or fuel oil.

The refined product is safer to handle—it has a relatively high flash

point—, has little odor, and is a much cleaner material to apply to

the surface of wood.

Five percent DDT, two percent chlordane, or one-half percent

dieldrin or lindane have proven effective in preventing attack, especially when the product is dipped in the solution for 3 minutes.

Further information concerning prevention and control of lyctus

infestations is given in an article by Johnston, Smith, and St. George

{2) and in U.S. Department of Agriculture Leaflet 358 (5).

UTILIZATION OF BAMBOO

In China, India, Japan, and other Eastern countries the uses of

bamboo are probably more diverse than those of any other plant.

Many of these uses have developed because of the scarcity of other

materials and the economic pressure to utilize abundant and inexpensive bamboo resources. Inasnuich as modern materials and manufacturing techniques have made available many products that could

otherwise be made from bamboo it is likely that this crop will be used

to a much lesser extent in this country than in other countries. However, the eminent suitability of bamboo for certain purposes has been

denionstrated by its utilization in other countries. The following is

limited to a discussion of practical uses of bamboo in this country

and the research on utilization of bamboo in industry.
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 65

Farm and Home Uses

The traditional use with which bamboo is usually associated in this

country is that of nshing poles. A laroe jjart of the l)anib()o now

used for this and other purposes is imported. However, this does jiot

preclude the entry into trade of domestically produced poles from fully

matured culms that are properly cured.

One of the most larjxely used bamboos for fishing poles in tlie import

trade has been PhyUostachys aurea (''fishpole bamboo''). This sj^ecies

is suitable for production in this country and, in addition. P. hamhmoides, its cultivar Slender Crookstem, and P. meyeii^ when of

suitable size, may be grown for this purpose. P. mireosnlcata, P. congesfa, P. fe.vuosa. P. nigm cv. Henon, P. nuda, and other species of

PhyUostachys. although having less strength than the former group,

can also be used for fishing poles.

Bamboo poles are used for rug poles and can also serve many iiseful

purposes on the farm, such as in nut harvesting and for fruit-tree

props, clothesline props, and lightweight fences. Due to its light

weight, strength, and durability, bamboo is well adapted for use as

plant stakes and trellises for crops sucli as Ijeans and tomatoes. If

support is desired for plants that will not cling readily to a smooth

pole, short branches may be left on the culms or pruned so that

projections of desired length remain on the stake.

Bamboo may be used for building various tyjies of shade houses

for plants or animals. Culms may be used entire or split for this

purpose. It is desirable to alternate the pieces with respect to taper

so that an area of uniform dimensions will be prodiiced. As nails

and screws cause excessive splitting in most bamboos of the Orient,

it usually will be necessary to drill holes if this type of fastening is

used. A more rapid method is to use galvanized wire for fastening

the culms to their support.

Research was conducted by the Engineering Experiment Station

at Clemson, S.C., on the use of l>amboo as reinforcement in concrete

(1). Several conclusions presented in the report of this study were

as follows:

The load capacity of bamboo reinforced concrete beams increased with increasing percentages of the bamboo reinforcement up to an optimum value.

This optimum value occurs when the cross-sectional area of the longitudinal

bamboo was from .3 to 4 percent of the cross-sectional area of the concrete in the

member.

The load reijuired to cause the failure of concrete beams reinforced with

bamboo was from four to five times greater than that required for concrete

members having eijiial dimensions and with no reinforcement.

Concrete beams with longitudinal bamboo reinforcement may be designed to

carry safely loads from two to three times greater than that expected from

concrete members having the same dimensions and no reinforcement.
66 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

The findings of the Clemson research also indicate that it is important to use mature, well-seasoned culms for reinforcement of conThe foliage and young shoots of certain bamboo species serve as

forage for livestock. In the United States in regions where the

native switchcane {Arundinaria tecta) occurs naturally it has been

shown to have excellent grazing value. From studies conducted by

agencies of the U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina State College

it" was concluded that under conditions of very favorable growth

(specifically in a test area in Washington County, N.C.) switchcane

ranks among the highest yielding native ranges in the United States.

Stock producers in localities still containing sizable areas of switchcane may therefore well consider using this for forage.

Bamboo may be used for soil-erosion control and road and streambank stabilization. Although few erosion-control studies have been

made witli the temperate bamboo species in the United States, tropical bamboos have been investigated in Puerto Eico and found to be

well suited for this purpose. It is possible that certain well-adapted

bamboo species of the temperate zone will find similar use in continental United States.

Bamboos have been suggested for use in the construction of strong,

easily constructed windbreaks and snow fences.

Ornamental Uses

Living bamboos, because of their diversity in habits of growth,

appearance, and stature, are adapted to many ornamental uses. The

variation in size among species makes possible a range of usage from

ground cover and low-growing shrubs to tall plantings offering some

features of shade trees combined with the density of shrubs.

The selection and description of bamboos for ornamental purposes

have been presented in detailed form in a series of papers {10). Figure 12 shows several {Arundinaria graminea, A. chrysantha, A. pumila,

and Shihataea hnmasaca) low-growing ornamental species of the running type. Other low-growing ones are: Arundinaña angustifolia.,

A. humiJis, A. variegafa, A. viridi-strinta, Sasa disticha., S. palmiita.

S. tessellata, and S. veitchii. Figure 13 shows three medium-height

species. Other medium-height species are Phyllostachys nigra, with

black culms, P. hamhumides cv. Allgold, and P. hamhusoides cv.

Castillon. P. viridis cv. Robert Young is of use as a tall ornamental.

These are attractive because of unusual coloration of the culms. Two

other running bamboos, with plain-green culms, that ultimately may

exceed 50 feet in height and that have exceptionally graceful foliage

are P. nigra cv. Henon and P. puhescens. P. pubescens, which is the
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 67

'V^h:.\~ii> .^'

1* ^"

'€ ? •

i#i^^«9'

FIGURE 12.—A group of several hardy running bamboos grown m dumps with

roots confined, near Washington, D.C. In foreground: Arundinaria

gramínea. Center: A. chrysantha (left) and A, pumila (right). Background: Pseiidosasa japónica (left), Fhijllostachijs nigra cv. Henon (center tall clump), and Shibataea kumasaca (right).

largest of the hardy bamboos, is one of the smallest leaved species

of PhyJloistachys. All these running bamboos can be kept at lower

levels of growth by cutting tops back completely in the early spring

eveiy 2 or 3 years. This treatment will result in forcing more new

culms, but they will be of much smaller size.

An interesting type of hedge may be made with bamboo. The clump

bamboo species, where climatically adajited. are better suited for hedges

than the running forms since they sjiread very slowly. Bambusa

multiplex and its varieties are frequently planted as hedges along

the gulf and southern Atlantic coasts and in California where minimal winter temperatures remain above 17° F. (fig. 14). Where winter

temperatures fall below 17° F. and do not go below 5°, the running

species should be used. Several desirable running species for tliis

use are Phylloatachys meyeii (fig. 15), P. nigra, P. purintrata, and

t^emiarundinaria fastno.'<a. FolloAving are some useful details on

establishing a bamboo hedge from running species.
68 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

PN-98S PN-987

FIGURE 13.—Three medium-height bamboo species: A, Semiarundinaria fastuosa; D, Arundinaria simonii; and C, Psettdosasa japónica.

If rhizome cuttings are to be used they may be planted in either of

two positions:

1. Cuttings placed vertically 6 to 8 inches apart in two or three

rows in a trench about IS inches wide. (Rhizomes planted in this

manner usually give a quicK growth of culms and a delayed growth

of rhizomes.)
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 69

FIGURE 14.—Clipped hedge (3 feet high) of Bambusa multiplex cv. Feinieaf,

in central Florida.

FIGURE 15.—Hedge of a running bamboo, Phyllostachys meyeri.

2. Cuttings laid horizontally in rows paralleling the sides of the

trench. (Rhizomes planted this way tend to produce a large proportion of new rhizomes whose direction of growth is along the axis of

the hedge.)

One- or two-year-old plants of running or clump bamboo species

may be used for the establishment of a hedge within the limitations

of climatic conditions given on page 67.

When the hedge is established the toY)S should not be pruned before

the new culms have reached nearly their full height. The kind and

amount of attention will depend upon the species used.

Since the running bamboos spread laterally by means of underground rhizomes, it is particularly important to provide relatively

large areas for their growth or barriers to restrict their spread. If
70 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

the planting is to be immediately adjacent to extensive lawn areas, it

is relatively easy to remove the unwanted shoots when they apirear in

the spring as the shoots are still soft and easily cut or broken off. As

the planting increases in age sprouts will appear in greater number

and at greater distances from the original plants. The distance of

rhizome spread beyond the maintained borders of a planting may

be only a few feet for low-growing or intermediate-sized species and

as much as 25 to 50 feet for larger species.

Artificial barriers such as sheet metal or concrete may be provided to

restrict the spread of ornamental species. P'igure 12 shows several

species grown in circular galvanized sheet metal barriers (without bottoms) 5 feet in diameter sunk 26 inches in the ground. In light soils

the rhizomes of some bamboos may grow under such a barrier and

come up on the outside. Thus, it may be desirable to extend the barrier considerably deeper—the depth depending upon soil type and

species grown. More durable, though more expensive, barriers may be

made from concrete or asbestos board. The points of connection in

sheet metal or asbestos board should be folded or bolted together

tightly so that rhizomes will not grow through the opening.

Food

Tlie young sprouts, or shoots, of the hardy Chinese and Japanese

bamboos of the genus Phyllostachys are practically all edible. The

sprouts of all are produced in the spring; those of one or two species

appear in March but most in April or May. The season is usually 3 to

i weeks. The sprouts are crisp in texture and are usually without

pronounced flavor, though the species vary somewhat in both texture

and flavor. Some, such as those of the Moso bamboo {P. jmhescens)

and the Ilenon bamboo (P. nigra cv. Ilenon), are somewhat bitter

or acrid, but when this flavor is objectionable it may be removed by

boiling in two waters. In the shoots of many of the tropical and subtropical edible bamboos (of the genus Bambusa and others) the bitterness is much more pronounced than in those of the hardy running type.

When growing some of the tropical or subtropical bamboos for food

the bases of the clumps must be mounded up annually with soil to exclude sunlight as nearly as possible from the young shoots until they

are dug. This is reported to be universal practice in southeastern

China in the commercial production of shoots of the Beechey bamboo

(Bambusa beecheyana Munro), one of the important edible bamboos

of that region.

A typical sprout of PhyJlostachys or other running bamboo properly dug will have a small rooted, woody basal portion, increasing
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 71

sharply in diameter upward for a short distance from the slender

part attached to the underground rhizome. Shoots should be dug

when the tips are just emerging from the surface of the soil or very

soon thereafter, since tissues at the base become increasingly woody

as the shoots elongate after emergence. Digging should be done with

care to prevent bruising. The base of the shoot should be exposed

and severed with a sharp narrow spade or other appropriate tool at

the slender woody base where it is joined to the rhizome.

To prepare the shoots for cooking, the sheath covering is first cut

tlu-ough lengthwise with a sharp paring knife. Usually all sheaths

are removed, but the tender ones at the tip may be left on if desired.

If there is a grayish layer ( due to age) next to the lower nodes ( joints),

this must be pared off. The tough basal part of a sprout nuist be

discarded; above this, where still not too fibrous, the sprout should be

cut across the grain and not thicker than an eighth of an inch. The

more tender middle and upper parts may be sliced thicker or may be

cut into various shapes according to the recipe in which the material

is to be used (fig. 16).

FIGURE 16.—Sprouts of an edible bamboo {Phyllostachys bambusoides) in

différent stages of preparation. At right is shown a sprout in its natural

state, with enveloping sheaths. To the left of it at the back is a sprout

with all sheaths removed. Next to this is a piece of another sprout split

lengthwise to show the inside structure. At the right front is lower part

of a sprout sliced thinly. At left are the middle and upper parts of sprouts

cut into various shapes.
72 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Bamboo sprouts as tliiis prepared are used with excellent results

as an ingredient in many ordinary dishes consisting of various vegetables with or without meat. They also may be served alone, drained,

with butter melted over them, after boiling for about 20 minutes; salt

is added near the end of boiling period. If the fresh sprouts are unpleasantly bitter to the taste, there sliould be a change of water after

the first 10 minutes of cooking. Also the tenderest parts of nonacrid shoots can be used raw in mixed salads.

At present canned bamboo shoots used in the commercial fooddistributing industries are almost entirely imported. However,

shoots have been sold from several domestic bamboo groves, and occasional reports are received that much larger quantities of shoots

could have been sold if the supply had been larger.

Furniture, Interior Decoration, and Other Manufactured

Items

Furniture and \arious types of shades and screens made from bamboo are used in the United States in considerable quantities. Most

of these items are imported and for those manufactured in this country much of the raw material is imported. In Florida, however, vases

of various types and other articles are now manufactured from

locally grown bamboo, including Bumhum vidgiirh. It is possible

that if a sufficient quantity of domestic bamboo were available it

would find a market in this industry. Other items that may be manufactured from bamboo are: Archery bows (laminated), handles for

tools and sports articles, masts for sailboats and radio antennae,

picture frames and other no\elties, wood-wind musical instruments—

e.g., the shepherd's pipe—ski poles and vaulting poles, and split

fishing rods.

Bamboo culm sheaths of medium to large size of several species of

Phyllostacliys have numerous important everyday uses in the Orient,

such as wrappings for portions of fresh or cooked meat and other

foods and the making of workers' hats and clogs or sandals. None of

these are likely to be adopted in this country, but there is another

use—the making of a tool called the baren (pronounced bah'ren),

used by wood-cut artists in the Orient and also here. This use came

to attention during the early 1940's, when wood-cut artists in the

United States were unable to obtain the needed material from Japan

or China and inquired of the Department as to possible sources of

American-grown culm sheaths. Sheaths of Flu/llonfachys hamhmoides

and one or two closely related species were found to be adapted for

the making of barens. '&
BAMBOO IN THE UNITED STATES 73

Paper Pulp

Paper has been made from bamboo for hundreds of years in Cliina.

Other countries are current!}- manufacturin<i paper from bamboo on

a commercial scale. For example, in 1956 it was reported (3) that the

annual production of bamboo pulp in India for papermaking

amounts to about 250,000 tons (air-dry). As early as 1910 it was

reported that a larire Japanese papermill, after much experimentation, was establishino- a pulp mill in Formosa; and in 1926, bamboo

wrapping paper was being produced in French Indo-China.

"With the increasing per capita consumption of paper and the

increasing population of the United States it is estimated that a

shortage of raw materials for paper may develop in 20 to 25 years.

Thirty million tons of paper and paper products are consumed annually in the United States. ^Inch of certain paper products currently used is imported. For example, in 1955, 6.5 million tons of

newsprint were consumed in the United States, and of this 5.2

million tons were imported.

Indications are that pulp production per acre per year from bamIjoo will exceed that from either pine or hardwoods by several times.

To determine the feasibility of growing bamboo on a commercial

scale the Xew Crops Eesearch Branch of the Department of Agriculture has initiated several large-scale experiments. These experiments are designed to determine the most desirable species, cultural

requirements, and harvesting methods. It will be several years before the bamboos in these plantings will reach sufhcient size to begin

harvesting.

The Department does not recommend that large-scale bamboo growing be undertaken at this time in the expectation of making a

profit. There is as yet no large market for the product and no experience on which to base estimates of production costs or of future

selling prices. The Department recommends that at present the

growing of bamboos by individuals be undertaken only by persons

who expect to use the product themselves or to supply a known

demand. It also recommends that plantings be made on a small experimental scale in order to gain firsthand acquaintance with the

characteristics and habits of this plant. Plantings should not be

made in poor soils or in swampy locations. Growth will be slow at

best and maximum culm development will never be achieved in such

soils.
74 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK 193, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

LITERATURE CITED

(1) GLENN, H. E.

1950. BAMBOO REINFORCEMENT IN PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE. ClemSOn

Agr. Col., S.C, Engin. E.xpt. Sta. Bui. 4, 171 pp., illus.

(2) JoHN.soN, H. R., SMITH, R. H., and ST. GEORGE, R. A.

1955. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF LYCTUS POWDER-POST BEETLES.

South. Lumberman Mag. 1955 (Mar. 15): 72-74, illus. [Reprinted

under title "Control of Lyctus Powder-Post Beetles in Lumber

Yards and Processing Plants," in Pest Control Mag. 26 (1):

39-42, illus.]

(3) MCCLVRE, F. A.

1956. BAMBOO IN THE ECONOMY OF ORIENTAL PEOPLES. Econ. Bot. 10:

335-361, illus.

(4)

1957. BAMBOOS OF THE GENUS PHYLLO.STACHYS UNDER CULTIVATION IN

THE UNITED STATES. U.S. IJept. Agr. Haudb. 114, 69 pp., illus.

(5) MoRRiLL, A. W. Jr., and OTANES, F. C).

1947. DDT EMULSION TO CONTROL MEALYBUGS AND SCALE. JoUr. EcOn.

Ent. 40: 599-600.

(6) PLANK, H. K.

1948. BIOLOOY OF THE POWDER-POST BEETLE IN PUERTO RICO. PUERTO

RICO Fed. E.xpt. Sta. Bul. 44, 29 pp., illus.

(7) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICILTIRE.

1957. ANTS IN THE HOME AND GARDEN, HOW TO CONTROL THEM. U.S.

Dept. Agr. Home and Gard. Bul. 28, 8 pp., illus.

(8) UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE.

1959. POWDER-POST BEETLES IN BUILDINGS, WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM.

U.S. Dept. Agr. Leaflet 358, 8 pp., illus.

(9) WHITE, 1). G.

1948. BAMBOO CULTURE AND UTILIZATION IN PUERTO RICO Puerto Rico

Fed. Expt. Sta. Cir. 29, 34 pp., illus.

(10) YOUNG, R. A.

1945-46. BAMBOOS IN AMERICAN HORTICULTURE. Nati. Hort. Mag. 24:

171-196, 274-291; 25: 40-64, 257-283, 352-365, illus.

U.S. GOVERSMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1961