Gigantochloa latifolia
Gigantochloa latifolia Ridl., Fl. Malay Penins. v, 1925: 262.
Synonym: Oxytenanthera auriculata sensu Prain.
Thai name: ไผ่ตากวาง (phai ta kwang) ["pai ta khuang", "phai ta kwuang"] (Peninsular). — T. Smitinand, 2001 [#1003]; BKF [#1368].
Malay name: Buloh pahit.
Distribution: THAILAND (South): Provinces of Songkhla and Surat Thani; in evergreen forest at a low elevation of about 300 m altitude, possibly distributed in all southernmost provinces. — MALAYSIA (Peninsular): in the northern part, in lowlands, and on hills.
Culm size: Length 6–10 (15) m, diameter 2–4 (6) cm.
Descriptions:
(1) "Culms up to 10 m. by 8 cm. thick, culm-sheaths with broad blades, up to 8.5 cm., auricles low, firm, scarcely exceeding 3 mm. high, without bristles; ligules prominent, membranous, fimbriate, up to 1.5 cm. tall; leaf-blades very short-hairy beneath; auricles with occasional small bristles; callus without a membranous wing; ligule up to 4 mm., rarely 8 mm. tall. …" — H. B. Gilliland & al., Revised Flora of Malaya, vol. 3, 1971: p. 34 [#1039].
(2) "Culm sheaths pale green, densely covered with dark brown hairs; blade broadly lanceolate, erect; auricles low rims 2–3 mm high, glabrous; ligule with an entire 4–6 mm base bearing long bristles 5–10 mm long. Culms to 6–9 m tall, commonly 3–5.5 cm diameter; internodes 30–45 cm long, dark green, occasionally streaked with paler green at the basal part of the culm, without white wax, with dark hairs near the top of the internode, and a narrow band of pale felty hairs above and below the node. Leaf: blades 16–40 cm long, 2–6 cm wide, pale hairy below; stalk 2.5–4 mm long; auricles indistinct to small lobes 1–3 mm high, with fine pale brown bristles 2–3 mm long; ligule a subentire to irregularly toothed extension 6–8 mm long, sometimes with scattered fine bristles 2–3 mm long; sheath developing a scale-like callus on the abaxial side near the top … [flowers described]." — K. M. Wong, Bamboos of Peninsular Malaysia, 1995: p. 129-131, fig. 68-69 [#1210].
(3) "Culms densely tufted, straight and erect, up to 12 m tall, 4—6 cm in diameter; internodes to 25—50 cm long, plain green with pale yellow strips, covered with dark-brown hair densely near the top; nodes marked by the crustaceous, persistent bases of the fallen sheaths, and narrow bands of white sericeus hair above and below the nodes; walls about 5—7 mm thick. Branches developing from around mid culm upwards; mid-culm branch complements with several branches at each node arising from a single bud, the primary one dominant, 1—2 subdominant branches from its base. Culm leaves deciduous, coriaceous, yellow-green to pale-green with yellow strips, 25—30 cm long by 28—32 cm wide, top convex, back covered with appressed pale-brown to black hairs; blades green, lanceolate, erect, glabrous, 19—36 cm long by 3—5 cm wide near the base; auricles dark green, continuing from base of the culm-leaf blade, lobe-like, about 1—2 mm tall by 20 mm long, margins fringed with pale brown readily deciduous bristles up to 20 mm long; ligule with long laceration, the base 5—10 mm high, the lacerations to 10 mm high, sometimes at the middle is shorter than the edges. Leaves 9—11 per branchlet; blades 40—45 cm long by 4.2—5.5 cm wide, lower surface slightly scabrous, bases acute to oblique-attenuate, occasionally rounded, pseudo-petiole 3—7 mm long; leaf sheaths 10—15 cm long, glabrous; auricles small glabrous lobes to 1 mm high and 3 mm in lateral extent; scale-like callus present, glabrous, one of them rounded 3 mm high but another one crescent 1 mm high; ligule oblique, irregularly dentate, up to 5 mm; secondary veins 10—13 pairs, intermediate veins 7—9. … [flowers described, seeds unknown]." — C. Rattamanee, Taxonomic Revision of Gigantochloa (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) in Thailand …, Thesis, Kasetsart Univ., 2014: p. 85-89, fig. 26-28 [#1225].
(4) "… Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 600–900 cm long; 20–40 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 20–37 cm long; distally pilose (dark brown). Lateral branches dendroid. Buds or branches absent from lower quarter of culm. Culm-sheaths 9–15 cm long; 2 times as long as wide; pilose; with dark brown hairs; convex at apex; auriculate; with 1 mm high auricles; glabrous on shoulders. Culm-sheath ligule 15 mm high; lacerate. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; narrower than sheath; indistinctly demarcated from sheath; erect; 10–18 cm long; 40–45 mm wide. Leaf-sheath oral hairs scanty, or lacking. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 3–4 (–8) mm long; bilobed. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base cuneate; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.3 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 15–27 cm long; 37–60 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade surface puberulous; hairy abaxially. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
(5) E. A. Widjaja, Revis. Malesian Gigantochloa, 1987: p. 359-361, fig. 28-29 [#1224].
Images: Photo in K. M. Wong, Bamboo - The Amazing Grass, 2004: fig. 58 (culm sheath, shoot) [#1048].
Specimen: BS-0585 [C4-R02] (living plant), near อุทยานแห่งชาติ เขาน้ำค้าง (Khao Nam Khang National Park), Songkhla, southern Thailand, coll. C. S. #3047, 30 May 2010, received June 2010.
Gigantochloa latifolia (BS-0585): Upper section of a young culm (left), lower section of a young culm (right)
Characteristics:
(1) Habit open caespitose. Rhizome pachymorph, long. Culms erect, straight, widely bending above, almost down to the ground, unbranched on the lower culm (branching from about the 9th node up). Young shoots light green, dark hairy, with culm-leaf blades dark purplish and stiffly erect; emerge from April to October. Culm-internodes 37–49 cm long, mid-green, distally with loosely scattered short blackish rigid hairs when young, glabrous and slightly rough when old; diameter 5 cm (in disturbed, 6-year-old plant); thick-walled, solid or nearly so on the basal culm. Culm-nodes not prominent, occasionally with aerial roots on the basal nodes; sheath scar glabrous, with a narrow whitish ring below and above, fading with age; nodal ridge inconspicuous. Branch-buds solitary, about 2 cm wide and 2 cm tall, from the basal first node up. Branches typically 3–5, the central one dominant, about 1–2 (4) m long on the mid-culm, 0.3–0.6 m on the upper culm; branching intravaginal. Culm-leaves leathery, deciduous. Culm-leaf sheaths about 21–24 cm wide at the base, 20 cm high, half to two-thirds as long as the internode on the mid-culm, longer or nearly as long as the internode, yellowish green when young, light straw-colored when dry, sheaths of the lower culm thickly covered with short rigid appressed black hairs, sheaths on the upper culm with fewer hairs; margins dark ciliate; apex broad obtuse-triangular truncate, or almost horizontally truncate. Culm-leaf auricles rim-like, firm, small, ca. 13 mm wide and 3–5 mm high, entire, glossy and dark green when young; oral setae none. Culm-leaf ligule about 1–3 mm high, dark colored when young, extending into irregular 5–15 mm long pale fringes. Culm-leaf blade stiffly erect, broadly triangular to triangular-lanceolate, 4 cm wide near the base, ca. 11 cm high, dark colored when young; apex acuminate. Foliage-leaves (5) 6–10 (12) per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheath initially sparsely hispid, becoming glabrous, green to orange-green; margins eciliate. Foliage-leaf auricles rim-like, very low, dark brownish when young; oral setae none. Foliage-leaf ligule 4–6 (8) mm long, glabrous, reddish when young, often chaffy, occasionally fringed; outer ligule a low glabrous entire rim, orange-green when young. Foliage-leaf blades lanceolate, large, 31–50 (56) × (4) 6–10 (11.5) cm, medium green and glabrous above, bluish green and puberulous beneath; margins antrorsely scabrous; base rounded to cuneate; apex attenuate; midrib proximally prominent, yellowish green, side veins about 24; pseudopetiole 2–3 mm long. Flowers and seeds are unknown.
(2) Culm size dimensions: Basal culm 0.05 m above the ground, culm diameter 4.3 cm, solid; lower culm 1.1 m above the ground, culm diameter 3.3 cm, wall thickness 1.15 cm, lacuna diameter 1.0 cm; mid-culm 3.0 m above the ground, diameter 3.4 cm, wall 0.6 cm, lacuna 2.2 cm; mid-culm 6.1 m above the ground, diameter 2.1 cm, wall 0.3 cm, lacuna 1.5 cm; upper culm 8.0 m above the ground, diameter 1.1 cm, wall 0.2 cm, lacuna 0.7 cm; culm apex ca. 10.5 m.
Cultivation requirements: Easy-growing; in full sun, on heavy, moisture-retentive to moist soil with good drainage.
Comments: The identification of BS-0585 as Gigantochloa latifolia may be correct, but an authoritative confirmation is deemed to be required. The major characteristics of Gigantochloa latifolia seem to match quite well with those of BS-0585. The only confusing fact is the open-caespitose habit in BS-0585, whereas Gigantochloa latifolia was described as having densely tufted culms.
Specimen: BS-0546 [C2-R06] (living plant), near อุทยานแห่งชาติ เขาน้ำค้าง (Khao Nam Khang National Park), Songkhla, southern Thailand, coll. C. S. #3048, 30 May 2010, received June 2010.
Characteristics: Culms over 10 m long (possibly 15 m), erect below, arching above, the tips down to the ground, striped, yellowish to cream with narrow green stripes of varying width on the lower culm, green with narrow yellowish to cream stripes on the mid culm, and uniform green on the upper culm. Young shoots emerge from April. Culm-internodes to 35 cm long, 5–6 cm in diameter; very thick-walled.
Specimen: BS-0547 [C8-R05] (living plant), near อุทยานแห่งชาติ เขาน้ำค้าง (Khao Nam Khang National Park), Songkhla, southern Thailand, coll. by C. S. #3049, 30 May 2010.
Characteristics:
(1) Habit caespitose, clumps erect below, bending and scrambling above. Rhizome pachymorph. Culms erect, striped, yellowish to cream with narrow green stripes of varying width on the lower culm, green with narrow yellowish to cream stripes on the mid-culm, and uniform green on the upper culm; unbranched on the lower culm (branched from about the 11th node above the ground); height over 10 m [ultimate height not yet known]. Young shoots emerge from May. Culm-internodes 43–75 cm long, mid-green, with yellowish to cream narrow stripes of various widths on the lower culm, distally with a few scattered short dark hairs when young, glabrous, smooth and almost glossy with age, diameter 4.0 cm [in an immature and disturbed 6-year-old plant, ultimate diameter not yet known], thick-walled on the lower culm, thin-walled and easily splinting on the mid-culm and upper culm. Culm-nodes not prominent; sheath scar glabrous; supranodal line obscure, without a ridge. Branches typically 3, central one dominant, 2 subdominant side branches, occasionally one or a few much smaller and shorter branches; the main branch typically less than 2 m long, but upper branches may reach a length of 5 m and more; branching intravaginal. Culm-leaves late deciduous, sometimes remaining loosely attached to the culm. Culm-leaf sheath leathery, brittle, about 23 cm wide at the base, 17 cm high, about half as long as the internode or a little shorter, with patches of few scattered short dark hairs, otherwise glabrous, orange-brown when dry; margins long dark densely ciliate when young, entire when old; apex horizontally truncate and about 4 cm wide on the basal culm, the middle part of the apex moderately to strongly convex-rounded on the lower and mid-culm [not seen on the upper culm]. Culm-leaf auricles rim-like, broad and low, rounded above, entire; oral setae none. Culm-leaf ligule low, ca. 2 mm, long-fringed, chaffy. Culm-leaf blade erect, triangular-lanceolate to lanceolate, thickly-papery, purplish-green when young, attachment with the sheath about 2 cm wide, apex long-acuminate, caducous on the mid-culm and upper culm, persistent on the lower culm. Foliage-leaves 4–7 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheath initially hispid, glabrous and yellowish when old, keeled. Foliage-leaf auricles inconspicuous or none; oral setae none. Foliage-leaf ligule 3–8 mm high, irregularly cleft or fringed, chaffy. Foliage-leaf blades 25–45 (55) × 5–8 (10) cm, glabrous on both surfaces, mid-green above, bluish-green beneath; margins antrorsely scabrous; base rounded to cuneate; apex attenuate; midrib proximally prominent; pseudopetiole 6–10 mm long. Flowers and seeds are unknown.
(2) Culm size dimensions: Basal culm 0.1 m above the ground, culm diameter 4.0 cm, wall thickness not measured; lower culm 2.3 m above the ground, culm diameter 2.80 cm, wall thickness 0.50 cm, lacuna diameter 1.80 cm; mid-culm 5.25 m above the ground, diameter 2.00 cm, wall 0.25 cm, lacuna 1.50 cm; upper culm 7.1 m above the ground, diameter 0.70 cm, wall 0.15 cm, lacuna 0.40 cm; culm apex not measured.
Uses: Not recorded. The species has ornamental value and can be used for gardens and landscaping.
Cultivation requirements: Easy-growing; in part shade to full sun, on heavy soil, moisture-retentive to moist with good drainage.
BS-0547: Upper part of a culm-leaf in a young culm
Gigantochloa cf. latifolia
Specimen: BS-0169 (spikelets) Ko Lanta, without precise locality, Krabi, southern Thailand, cultivated, received as "Gigantochloa auriculata ? ไผ่ผากลาย (phai phak lai)" from A. L., 23 Aug. 2014.
Characteristics: Culms striped. Culm-leaves (early?) deciduous.
Comments:
(1) 4 g of spikelets received from A. L., none of the spikelets contained seed. The spikelets seem to be genuine Gigantochloa.
(2) The photographs, supplied by courtesy of A. L., of this bamboo plant show a clumping bamboo with striped culms, no low branching, and nodes bare of culm-leaves, except a few culm-leaves persistently attached to the basal node. Apparently, this bamboo drops off its culm-leaves early, which is rare in species of Gigantochloa and was observed at Bambusetum Baan Sammi only from two plants of Gigantochloa latifolia.
(3) BS-0169 is tentatively assigned to Gigantochloa latifolia because this species comes with striped culms and early deciduous culm-leaves.
BS-0169: Gigantochloa spikelets from Krabi, southern Thailand