Dendrocalamus barbatus
Dendrocalamus barbatus Hsueh & D. Z. Li, J. Bamboo Res. 7 (3), 1988: 10, 15; J. Bamboo Res. 7 (4), 1988: 4.
Thai names: ไผ่ซางจีน (phai sang chin); ไผ่ซางเขียว (phai sang khiao); ไผ่ตงจีน (phai tong chin). — T. Smitinand, 2001 [#1003]; BKF [#1368].
Distribution: THAILAND (North): Chiang Mai Province: Doi Inthanon, planted; Thung Luang, Mae Wang District, planted. Not a native of Thailand, but said to occur locally naturalized. — CHINA (South): southern Yunnan, often cultivated, 300–1,100 m altitude). — Perhaps also in VIETNAM.
Culm size: Height 15–18 (20) m, diameter 10–15 cm.
Descriptions:
(1) "Culms 15–18 m, 10–15 cm in diam., tip slightly drooping; internodes 26–32 cm; wall thick. Branches several, main mid-culm ones 3. Culm sheaths deciduous, orange-brown, ca. 3/4 as long as internodes, leathery, margins ciliate, apex rounded; auricles 5–15 mm; oral setae present or absent; ligule 5–8 mm, serrulate; blade reflexed, glabrous or densely bearded at base. Leaf sheaths sparsely hairy; auricles inconspicuous, sparsely hairy; ligule ca. 1 mm; blade narrowly lanceolate, 10–15 × 1–2 cm. … [flowers described, seeds unknown]." — var. barbatus: "Culm sheath auricles with oral setae; blade with basal beard." — var. internodiiradicatus: "Culm sheath auricles without oral setae; blade glabrous." — Flora of China, accessed 16 Nov. 2017 [#1303].
(2) "… Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; nodding at the tip, or pendulous at the tip; 1500–1800 cm long; 100–150 mm diam.; woody; with aerial roots from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; thick-walled; 26–32 cm long; dark green; distally mealy, or glabrous. Culm-nodes flush with internodes. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement many; with 3 branches dominant. Culm-sheaths deciduous; 25–38 cm long; coriaceous; pilose; with tawny hairs; auriculate; with 2–3 mm high auricles; with 5–15 mm wide auricles; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 10 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 3–8 mm high; dentate. Culm-sheath blade ovate; reflexed; 10–30 cm long; acuminate. Leaves 8–15 per branch. Leaf-sheaths pilose. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 10–15 cm long; 10–20 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 10–12 secondary veins. Leaf-blade apex acuminate. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase, accessed 16 Nov. 2017 [#1335].
Images: Line drawing in Flora of China [#1303]. Photos in fpcn.net (habit, leaves, flowers) [#1344].
Uses: Shoots for food; culms for construction.
Flowering and seeding: (1) The species flowered in Thailand and China in recent years; seeds were collected and seedlings were raised. — (2) Plants have flowered in northern Thailand in 2017 (ธ. บ., pers. comm. 11 Nov. 2017): flowering of Dendrocalamus barbatus, Thailand, on Facebook, 31 Jan. 2017, by Thammarat Boonthammee.
Seed viability: Six months and longer under normal atmospheric conditions; one and a half years under storage at 1–6 °C. — acc. FMXG.
Habit and culms of Dendrocalamus barbatus — by courtesy of Lihua Jiang, Yunnan Bamboo, China
Specimens: BS-0641 [-], BS-0641-1 [BBG], BS-0792 [BBG], BS-0824 [-] (living plants), raised from seeds, the seeds from FMXG, Yunnan, China, as "Dendrocalamus barbatus, 小叶龙竹 (xiǎo yè lóng zhú)", collected 2010, Apr. 2011 (BS-0641), Feb. 2012 (BS-0641-1), Apr. 2013 (BS-0792), Apr. 2014, Mar. 2015 (BS-0824).
Characteristics (BS-0641 and BS-0641-1): Culm-leaf blade: Base not bearded.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 260–340 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: (1) Seed placed in moistened coir dust at 100%, in April 2011, atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 10 days, germination rate low (<40%). — (2) Seed laid on moistened tissue paper, in April 2012, 29–35 °C day, diffuse light, 18–22 °C night, atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 9 days, germination rate very high (>90%). — (3) Seed germination tests 140516, 140827: A germination rate of about 80% can be expected from 4-month-old seeds.
Comments: The plants are a species of Bambusa or Dendrocalamus, but species identification as Dendrocalamus barbatus has not yet been confirmed.
Dendrocalamus barbatus (BS-0641): Seeds (above), young seedling (below)
Dendrocalamus barbatus (BS-0792): Seeds (left), seedlings, 11th day (right)
Specimen: BT1004 [BBG] (seeds), from YNB, Yunnan, China, as "Dendrocalamus barbatus, 小叶龙竹 (xiǎo yè lóng zhú)", collected Dec. 2016, received by Boonthammee Bamboo Garden, Hang Dong, Chiang Mai, Mar. 2017.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 320–340 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: Germination rate moderate, 30–35% can be expected (test 170313).
Specimen: BS-0359 [-] (living plant), Thailand, Chiang Mai, Suan Dok Mai Garden, Hang Dong, cult., as "ไผ่ซาง" (phai sang), 9 Dec. 2009, the origin is Ob Khan National Park, wild.
Characteristics: Culm-internodes initially scarcely covered with pale hairs, becoming brownish scurfy when old.
Uses: Plants for landscaping.
Cultivation requirements: Easy and vigorous-growing; in part shade to full sun, sandy loam to clay loam, moisture-retentive to moist, seems to prefer less heat and high atmospheric moisture.
Comments: The identity of this clone has not yet been confirmed.
Specimens: BS-0636 [†] (living plant), Loei, north-eastern Thailand, cult., as "ไผ่หลวง" (phai luang), received from ธ. ล., 21 Mar. 2011, said to originate from Vietnam and having been introduced to Thailand about 2008; BS-0636 at Baan Sammi partly flowered Dec. 2013 – May 2014, seeds produced, second flowering Nov. 2014, no seeds produced, the plant died early 2015; BS-0636A [BBG] (seeds) in low quantity collected by D. O. from a single flowering plant of BS-0636, Mar. – May 2014, seedlings raised.
Seed weight: 0.4 g ≈ 10 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: (1) Seeds (BS-0636A) laid on moistened tissue paper, 32–34 °C day, diffuse light, 19–22 °C night, atmospheric humidity >70%, the first shoot emerged after 5 days, 9 of 10 seeds have sprouted up to the 10th day (test 140327). Seeds with husks don't seem to be very susceptible to fungal infection. — (2) pH tolerability test (Jul. – Sep. 2014): Seedlings do not tolerate a high-alkaline growth medium.
Comments:
(1) A few stems of this plant (BS-0636) flowered in 2014 and produced seeds (BS-0636A); the remaining stems flowered in early 2015, of which the spikelets (BS-0636B) did not produce seeds.
(2) The identity of this clone as Dendrocalamus barbatus has not yet been confirmed.
Dendrocalamus barbatus (?) (BS-0636): Young shoot (left), young stem with culm sheath (center), flowering branch (right)
Dendrocalamus barbatus (?) (BS-0636A): Seeds with husks (left), germinating seed (right)
Specimens: BS-0015 [†] [BBG] (living plants), Nan, northern Thailand, along rivers in lowland, without precise locality, coll. ธ. ล., received 21 July 2011. BS-0015A [BBG] (living plant), raised from seeds of a single flowering plant of BS-0015; a total of only 4 seeds were found and collected by D. O., 15 June 2012.
Seed weight: Not recorded.
Seed germination: Seeds were laid on moistened tissue paper, in mid-June 2012, 27–31 °C day, with diffuse light, 22–24 °C night, atmospheric humidity >70%, the shoot of 1 seed emerged after 14 days, only 1 of 4 seeds germinated.
Comments:
(1) Plant height to about 20 m; culms thick-walled, diameter to 17 cm; clumper, culms dark green, without white wax. The vegetative and flower characteristics of this bamboo match very well with those of Dendrocalamus barbatus (description in Kew GrassBase), but the culm sheath ligule is considerably taller (more than 1 cm high). It also matches very well with another bamboo from Vietnam (BS-0636), which flowered and seeded at Baan Sammi in 2014. Both bamboos, BS-0015 and BS-0636, are certainly conspecific.
(2) This bamboo is a species of Dendrocalamus, but species identification as Dendrocalamus barbatus has not yet been confirmed.
Dendrocalamus barbatus (?) from Nan (BS-0015): Flowering branch (above, left), culm cross-section (above, right), leaf sheaths, and leaf blades (below)
Dendrocalamus barbatus (?) from Nan (BS-0015A): Seeds (left), germinating seed, 14th day (center), seedling, 27th day (right)