Gigantochloa apus
Gigantochloa apus (Schult. f.) Kurz, Natuurk. Tijdschr. Ned.-Indië 27, 1864: 226.
Synonyms: Bambusa apus Schult. f., Syst. Veg., ed. 15 bis, 7 (2), 1830: 1353; Schizostachyum apus (Schult. f.) Steud., Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1 (3), 1854: 332; Oxytenanthera apus (Schult. f.) É. G. Camus, Bamb., 1913: 145; Gigantochloa kurzii Gamble, Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. (Calcutta) 7, 1896: 65 (p.p., quod typus).
Thai names: ไผ่ตากวาง (phai ta kwang) (South); ไผ่เกรียบ (phai kriap) (Nakhon Si Thammarat); ไผ่ผากคายแดง (phai phak khai daeng) (Ranong); ไผ่ผาก (phai phak) (Krabi). — T. Smitinand, 2001 [#1003]; BKF [#1368].
Chinese name: 印尼巨竹 (yin ni ju zhu) [印尼 = Indonesia].
Indonesian names: bambu tali, bambu apus. Javanese names: pring tali, pring apus. Sundanese name: awi tali.
English name: Apus Bamboo.
Distribution: THAILAND (South): Provinces of Ranong, Krabi, and Songkhla; wild, in lowland forest at 50–100 m altitude. — MYANMAR (South). — CHINA (South): Yunnan, introduced. — MALAYSIA (Peninsular), introduced. — SINGAPORE, introduced. — INDONESIA, wild or naturalized, and cultivated, introduced from Myanmar or Thailand in early times, widely cultivated in Java. — INDIA (North, North-East). — This species grows on sandy or clay soils in open sites or disturbed forests, in lowlands along river banks, and on hill slopes, up to 1,500 m altitude. — N. Bystriakova & al., Bamboo Biodiversity, 2003: map 31 [#1342].
Descriptions:
(1) "Young culms covered partly or wholly with fine whitish appressed hairs, thus appearing grey-green, smooth and green when old; culms 10–20 m. tall, up to 9 cm. diameter, basal part unbranched and of even thickness, longest internodes 45 cm. or more long. Middle culm-sheaths dark-hairy on the back, commonly 25 cm. long, middle part of the top (bearing the blade) distinctly rounded, the edge on either side of the blade bordered by narrow firm auricles (part near the blade commonly under 2 mm. high, outer ends about 3 mm.) their edges with scattered rather slender bristles; blade reflexed, deciduous when old, relatively narrow and narrowed at the base, when young dark-hairy on both surfaces; ligule 3–5 mm. high, irregularly toothed, not long-bristly. Leaf-blades very variable in size on the same culm or even on the same branchlet, distal ones often much smaller than basal, 9–40 cm. long, 1.5–7.5 cm. wide, paler beneath than above and very finely hairy beneath when young, petiole commonly 7–12 mm. long; auricles firm, rounded, usually quite glabrous; ligule 2–3 mm. tall, edge finely hairy. …" — H. B. Gilliland & al., Revised Flora of Malaya, vol. 3, 1971: p. 31 [#1039].
(2) "Strongly tufted bamboo with erect drooping culms. Culms bright green or yellow, hollow at the base, 2.5-9 cm diameter, wall thickness 6-13 mm, little swollen at the nodes and constricted between the nodes. Culm-sheaths 35-45 cm with small rounded auricle; blade curved up towards middle, very acute, dark brown with spreading white soft hairs outside, inside glabrous, old sheaths persistent, yellowish and brown. Leaves linear-lanceolate, 10-15 cm long and 1.5-2 cm broad, petiole short. …" — K. K. Seethalakshmi & al., Bamboos of India, 1998: p. 154 [#1062].
(3) "Open tufted, sympodial bamboo. Culm erect, 8–30 m tall, 4–13 cm in diameter, wall up to 1.5 cm thick, greyish-green to bright or yellowish green, glabrous, shiny, covered with white wax when young; internodes 20–60(–75) cm long; nodes slightly swollen on the outside. Branches arising from the upper half only. Culm sheath narrowly trapezoid, 7–35 cm × 8–26 cm, persistent, green and covered with dark brown hairs when young, turning yellow-brown and glabrous at maturity; blade ovate-triangular, 3–10(–18) cm × 2–5 cm, spreading to deflexed when the culm elongates, ultimately deciduous, on adaxial side covered with deciduous dark brown, appressed hairs; ligule 2–4 mm long, irregularly toothed; auricles 4–8 mm wide, 1–3 mm long, firm, tallest at the outer ends, with slender bristles on the edges. Young shoots slender, with appressed blackish brown hairs, light green to grey-green, the blades spreading to deflexed, tinged yellowish. Leaf blade lanceolate, 13–49 cm × 2–9 cm, slightly hairy beneath when young; sheath dark brown hairy along the margin; ligule 2–4 mm long, finely hairy at the edge; auricles 1–2 mm long, rounded, firm, glabrous. … [flowers and seeds described]." — E. A. Widjaja in S. Dransfield & E. A. Widjaja (eds.), Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 7, Bamboos, 1995: p. 100-102, fig. [#1226].
(4) "… caespitose; clumped densely. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 800–2200 cm long; 40–130 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 20–60 cm long; grey; distally pruinose. Lateral branches dendroid. Buds or branches absent from lower quarter of culm. Branch complement several; with 1 branch dominant. Culm-sheaths persistent; 7–35 cm long; 1–1.3 times as long as wide; brown; hispid; with black hairs; truncate at apex; auriculate; with 1–3 mm high auricles; glabrous on shoulders, or ciliate on shoulders; shoulders with 4–7 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 2–4 mm high; dentate. Culm-sheath blade triangular; deciduous; spreading, or reflexed; 3–10 cm long; 20–50 mm wide; pubescent; acuminate. Leaf-sheaths outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; 1–2 mm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 1–2 mm long. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.4–1.1 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 13–49 cm long; 20–90 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or puberulous; hairy abaxially. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
(5) "Clump densely tufted, the middle part usually irregularly raised above the ground. On the whole appears characteristically greyish green, conspicuously dirty because of the appressed and long persistent yellowish brown dried culm sheaths. Young shoots slender with appressed blackish brown hair, light green to grey green, the blades spreading to deflexed, tinged yellowish. Culm 8 — 22 m tall, 4 — 13 cm diameter, the wall up to 15 mm thick at the base, internodes 20 — 60 cm long (in Burmese plants the longest internodes may be up to 75 cm as is shown by specimen Parker 3090), nodes a little swollen on the outside, node septums concave ; when young the upper part of the internodes are covered with white wax so that the culms appear greyish green becoming bright, green to yellowish green when older. Culm sheaths persistent, when fresh greenish brown covered by appressed blackish brown hairs, hairs fall off when older so that the culm sheaths become glabrous and appear yellowish brown ; sheaths 7 — 35 cm long, 8 — 26 cm wide, narrowly trapezoid with apex almost truncate, bordered on either side of the blades by narrow but firm auricles which are raised toward the outer end, 4 — 8 mm in lateral extent, 1—3 mm high ; the auricles sometimes with scattered bristles up to 7 mm long ; ligules 2—4 mm high irregularly toothed ; blades spreading to deflexed when the culms elongate, ultimately deciduous, ovate triangular, acuminate at the apex, 3"—10 (—18) cm long, 2 — 5 cm wide covered with dark brown appressed but deciduous hairs on both sides. Leaf blades lanceolate, 13 — 49 cm long, 2 — 9 cm wide, slightly hairy beneath when young and glabrous afterwards, pseudopetioles 4 — 11 mm. Leaf sheaths dark brownly hairy along the margin ; auricles firm, small, rounded, blackish brown, glabrous, 1 — 3 mm at lateral extent, 1—2 mm high; ligules 2 — 4 mm high, finely hairy, with collar-like callus. … [flowers and seeds described]." — E. A. Widjaja, Revis. Malesian Gigantochloa, 1987: p. 349-353, fig. 24-25 [#1224].
(6) "Culms densely tufted, straight and erect, up to 15 m tall, 4.5—6 cm in diameter; internodes to 50 cm long, grayish-green and glaucous when young, covered with black hair; nodes not conspicuously swollen; walls relatively thin, about 0.8—1 cm thick at mid-culm portion. Branches developing from the upper part of the culm, several branches at each node, the primary one dominant, 1—2 subdominant branches from its base and often several lesser branches. Culm leaves persistent, coriaceous, yellow-green, 36—40 cm long by 23—30 cm wide, top truncate to slightly convex, back covered with appressed black hairs; blades green, linear to linear-lanceolate, reflexed, 6—13 cm long by 1—1.5 cm wide near the base, covered with black hair on adaxial sides; auricles dark green, continuing from base of the culm-leaf blade, rim-like to lobe like at the end, reach edges of the sheath, about 3—5 mm tall by 15—30 mm long, margins fringed with readily deciduous bristles 4—5 mm long; ligule denticulate to subentire, 2—3 mm high. Leaves 6—10 per branchlet; blades 20—25 cm long by 1.3—2.2 cm wide, lower surface smooth to slightly pubescent, bases acute to oblique-attenuate, pseudo-petiole 3—5 mm long; leaf sheaths 6—8 cm long, covered with appressed pale-brown to dark brown hair; auricles small glabrous lobes to 1 mm high present only one side; scale-like callus present but very low up to 0.5 mm high, usually covered with minuscules spines; ligule a low oblique rim 1 mm high, margin irregularly dentate to sub-entire; secondary veins 5—7 pairs, intermediate veins 4—6." — C. Rattamanee, Revis. Gigantochloa in Thailand, 2014: p. 68-70, fig. 19 [#1225].
(7) J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae Brit. India, 1896: p. 65, "G. kurzii" [#1230].
Images: Line drawing in J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae Brit. India, 1896: pl. 56, "G. kurzii" [#1230]. Photos in E. A. Widjaja, Spect. Indones. Bamboos, 2019: p. 76-79 [#1279] (habit, culms, culm-leaf, young shoots).
Uses: Culms are very durable, used for construction, e.g., roofing, scaffolding, bridges, walls, handicrafts, cooking utensils, fishery utensils, furniture, ropes, strings, basketry, and ply bamboo (bamboo plywood). Shoots are very bitter, usually not used for food.
Cultivation requirements: Easy and fast-growing; grows well on moist sandy soil and clay soil.
Flowering cycle: 50–60 years in Indonesia [#1226].
Seed viability: Viable seeds will be produced; it has been reported that the duration of their viability does not exceed 6 months.
Specimen: BS-0319 [C7] (living plant), Satun, southern Thailand, without precise locality (possibly within, or between the following districts: อ. ละงู La-ngu District, and อ. ควนโดน Khuan Don District), coll. by C. S. #3016, 7 Nov. 2009.
Gigantochloa apus (BS-0319), from left to right: Young shoot, young culm-leaf, abaxial view of a dried culm-leaf, young foliage-leaf sheaths with auricles and blade bases
Characteristics: Habit tight caespitose. Rhizome pachymorph, short-necked [n.v.]. Culms straight, erect, slightly bending outwards above, height about 5 m [ultimate height not yet known, supposed to reach over 10 m]. Young shoots shiny dark green or blackish green, scattered with short black hairs, with erect to spreading mid to dark green culm-leaf blades and showy glossy black long oval-shaped auricles; emerge from March to August. Culm-internodes terete, 30–43 cm long, mid-green, somewhat shiny, not farinose, lower half glabrous, smooth, upper half scabrous and with a few short black appressed rigid hairs; diameter 2.5 cm [ultimate diameter not yet known, may attain 5 cm or little more]; thick-walled, lacuna diameter as wide as the wall thickness on the basal culm. Culm-nodes glabrous, smooth, flat; sheath scar not protruding; supranodal line obscure, without a ridge, about 5–10 mm above the nodal line; without a white ring below or above the sheath scar, or with a very narrow early fading white ring below; aerial roots none. Branch-buds solitary, oval-shaped, broader than tall, almost twice as broad as high, present from the basal node up. Branches initially 3, central one dominant, 2 side branches subdominant, and a few slender branches; lower culm (up to the 6–9th node) branchless; branching intravaginal, rarely infravaginal; rebranching. Culm-leaves deciduous, the lower ones late deciduous, or persistent and decaying on the lowermost internodes. Culm-leaf sheaths 10 cm wide and more at the base, 15–20 cm long, 1.7 × as long as wide, a little less than half as long as the internode on the mid-culm, half as long as the internode on the lower culm; thickly papery, brittle, not farinose, sparsely scattered with very short appressed blackish hairs, dark green when young, light straw-colored when dry; margins partly short pale ciliate when young, eciliate when old; apex symmetrical or slightly asymmetrical, 2.5–3 (4) cm wide, obtusely triangular, with the middle part convex-rounded. Culm-leaf auricles glabrous rims, glossy black when young, dark straw-colored when dry, about 1.2–1.5 cm wide on each side, extending as a very low (less than 0.5 mm high) rim from the base edge of the blade slightly downwards to gradually increasing height towards the sheath apex edge, the outer end of the auricle oval-shaped and about 3 mm high. Culm-leaf ligule 0.5–1 mm high, with some whitish erect early caducous bristles, denticulate or entire when dry. Culm-leaf blades thickly papery, caducous, green when young, light straw-colored when dry, erect to patent, lanceolate on the mid-culm, almost narrow-triangular on the lower culm, about 1.2 cm wide near the base and 3.5–4 cm long on the lower culm, the width of the junction with the sheath about one third as wide as the sheath apex width; blade length much shorter than the sheath, one-third to one-fourth of the sheath length; blade apex long pointed. Foliage-leaves 8–10 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths keeled, yellowish green when young, light straw-colored when dry, initially with few short whitish appressed hairs, becoming glabrous soon, smooth or scaberulous; margins eliciate. Foliage-leaf auricles small glabrous lobes, orange to reddish when young, without bristles. Foliage-leaf ligule 0.5–1 mm high, entire. Foliage-leaf blades medium-sized, 20–33 × 2–4 (4.7) cm, lanceolate, glabrous on both surfaces, mid-green; base rounded to cuneate; apex attenuate; margins antrorsely scabrous; midrib proximally prominent on both surfaces; pseudopetiole 3–6 mm long. Flowers and seeds are unknown.
Uses: Not recorded. The plant has an unobtrusive, elegant ornamental appearance, mainly from its young shoots, and is suitable as a garden plant and for landscaping.
Cultivation requirements: The plant is easy-growing in part shade to full sun, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist soil with good drainage.
Provisional identification: Gigantochloa apus.
Gigantochloa apus 'Black Beauty'
Thai name: ไผ่ดำมาเลย์ (phai dam male).
Indonesian names: bambu apus salem, bambu apus hitam. Balinese name: tiying tali salem.
English name: Black Apus Bamboo.
Distribution: INDONESIA: Moluccas, Bali.
Description: E. A. Widjaja, Spect. Indones. Bamboos, 2019: p. 76-79, 173 [#1279].
Uses: Culms for light construction, interior design, furniture.
Specimen: BS-0901 [C2] (living plant), received as "Gigantochloa apus Hitam Indonesia" by , ต. น., 9 July 2016.
Characteristics: Young shoots conical, green; sheath margins blackish ciliate; culm-leaf blades spreading; emerge from March to August. Culm-internodes initially green with narrow whitish and light green stripes, and covered with short soft whitish hairs, internodes soon change to blackish and light green stripes, the whitish hairs remain longer when young, but become glabrous later. Culm-leaves persistent (on the lower culm). Culm-leaf sheaths pruinose, light straw-colored when dry and becoming glabrous with age; margins dark ciliate. Culm-leaf auricles dark green or black and almost glossy when young, erect, firm, glabrous, entire, occasionally with very short ciliae, adnate to the basal margins of the blade, extending as low rims to the sheath margins by increasing their height, and ending tallest and broad oval-shaped. Culm-leaf ligule short. Culm-leaf blades caducous. Foliage-leaf auricles 1–2 mm long and high, rounded, firm, glabrous. Foliage-leaf blades green, occasionally with a few narrow yellowish stripes, glabrous above, puberulent beneath when young, becoming glabrous.
Comments: The plant is currently too small to identify the species, but the few features that have been observed so far fit the description of Gigantochloa apus well.