Schizostachyum pergracile

Synonym: Cephalostachyum pergracile Munro, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 26 (1), 1868: 141.

Thai names: ไผ่ข้าวหลาม (phai khao lam; a frequent spelling variant of the Romanized Thai name is "kao larm"); ไผ่ข้าวหลามกาบแดง (phai khao lam kap daeng); ขุยป้าง (khui pang) (Chiang Mai); ป้าง (pang) (Northern); ว่าบลอ (wa-blo) (Karen: Mae Hong Son); ว่าพล้อง (wa-phlong) (Karen: Kanchanaburi). — T. Smitinand, 2001 [#1003]; BKF [#1368].

Chinese name: 香糯竹 (xiāng nuò zhú).

Distribution: THAILAND (North, North-East, West, South), in ever­green, mixed evergreen, mixed deciduous, and bamboo forest, at 50–700 m altitude; frequent and widespread, but is said to have become rare in some regions due to excessive exploitation. — MYANMAR, common and widespread, in mixed deciduous forests. — LAOS. — BANGLA­DESH. — INDIA (North-East, East, South). — NEPAL. — CHINA (South). — VIETNAM (North). — N. Bystriakova & al., Bamboo Biodiversity, 2003: map 19 [#1342].

Local distribution: Planted in villages in the Chiang Mai area, infrequent. Not found offered for sale at Kham Thiang Market, Chiang Mai.

Culm size: Height 5–15 (18) m, diameter 5–8 (9.5) cm.

Descriptions:

(1) "Tufted, deciduous, sympodial bamboo. Culm erect with pendulous tip, 7–30 m tall, 2.5–7.5 cm in diameter, wall very thin, glaucous green, somewhat whitish puberulous below the nodes; internodes 20–45 cm long; nodes slightly thickened. Branches arising from the higher nodes, many at each node, about equal in size. Culm sheath 10–15 cm × 15–20 cm, thick and leathery, promptly or tardily deciduous, reddish-brown, shiny, usually covered with appressed, blackish, stiff, deciduous hairs toward the base; blade ovate, cordate, cuspidate, 5 cm long, about half as wide as apex of sheath, densely hirsute on adaxial surface; ligule very narrow, 1.5–2 mm long, entire, densely white ciliolate; auricles horizontally extending along the top of the sheath, linear-lanceolate, 3–4 mm wide, densely wavy-bristly along the margins. Leaf blade linear-lanceolate, 10–35 cm × 1.5–6.0 cm, rought on both surfaces and margins sparsely puberulent beneath; sheath faintly striate, glabrous, ending in a small ciliate callus; ligule very low, entire; auricles usually lacking, leaving 2–3 early caducous, white, long bristles. … [flowers and seeds described]." — S. Duriyaprapan & P. C. M. Jansen in S. Dransfield & E. A. Widjaja (eds.), Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 7, Bamboos, 1995: p. 78-80, fig., as "Cephalostachyum pergracile" [#1226].

(2) Kew GrassBase, as "Cephalostachyum pergracile" [#1335].

(3) K. K. Seethalakshmi & al., Bamboos of India, 1998: p. 252 [#1062].

(4) Flora of China, as "Cephalostachyum pergracile" [#1303].

Images: Line drawing in Bamboos of India, 1998: fig. 88, p. 253; in Flora of China [#1303]; photos in AsianFlora [#1332]; photos by Niramit Sareerudt on Facebook, 26 Jan. 2014; Flowering of Schizostachyum pergracile in Nan, photos on Facebook, 25 Oct. 2020, by เตี๋ยวโฟ แซ่บเว่อร์; flowering of Schizostachyum pergracile in Nan, photos on Facebook, 26 Dec. 2020, by Jeera Makmee.

Uses: Culm sections are used as a flavor-adding cooking vessel for a Thai sticky rice dish called ข้าวหลาม (khao lam); culms are used for roof frames, basketry, handicrafts (lacquerware); plants used as garden ornamentals, for privacy screening, as windbreaks, and in landscaping; shoots edible.

Cultivation requirements: Easy-growing on heavy moist soil in full sun or partial shade.

Flowering cycle: Unknown, although gregarious flowering is known. In Thailand, gregarious flowering occurred in 1987, with a large amount of seed production. It has been reported that the species can sporadically flower almost every year, generally without producing seeds [#1226]. For a period of more than 15 years, plants of Schizostachyum pergracile grown at Bambusetum Baan Sammi have not shown signs of initiating flowering.

Seed viability: 10 months and longer without cool storage.

Comments:

(1) Based on a molecular study and morphological comparison, Schizostachyum pergracile forms a subclade, together with Schizostachyum brachycladum, S. zollingeri, and S. virgatum, within the clade Schizostachyum s.str. (H. Q. Yang, S. Peng & D. Z. Li, Generic delimitations of Schizostachyum and its allies …, Taxon 56(1), 2007: 45-54 [#1013]).

(2) "On the basis of papillae characters, Schizostachyum s.s. and Cephalostachyum were confirmed … Cephalostachyum virgatum and C. pergracile were confirmed to be members of Schizostachyum s.s." (H. Q. Yang, H. Wang & D. Z. Li, Comparative morphology of the foliage leaf epidermis, with emphasis on papillae characters …, Bot. J. Linnean Soc., 156(3), 2008: 411-423 [#1012]).