×Thyrsocalamus liang

In this contribution, members of the ไผ่เลี้ยง (phai liang) group are listed and described, which by horticulturists in the USA and Australia are usually referred to as "Bambusa nana", Phai Liang, or Liang Bamboo. A recent study (W. L. Goh & al., in Phytotaxa, vol. 362(3), 2018: pp. 271–281) [#1267] on Phai Liang revealed the hybrid origin of this bamboo. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that most members hitherto listed under Bambusa nana hort. belong to this single hybrid species, ×Thyrsocalamus liang, and their variants are listed herein. These are ไผ่เลี้ยงดำ (Phai Liang 'Dam'), ไผ่เลี้ยงหวาน (Phai Liang 'Wan'), ไผ่เลี้ยงทวาย (Phai Liang 'Thawai'), and some color variants. However, there are currently doubts if ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (Phai Liang 'Yak'), in Thailand, belongs to this species; therefore, this entity is being kept separate. In addition, it was found that "Bambusa nana" from Quail Botanical Gardens (San Diego Botanic Garden, since 2009), USA, often referred to as Phai Liang, has some characteristics very different from Phai Liang, so this Quail clone may be a hybrid with other parents or an additional parent (presumed tentatively to belong to Gigantochloa). Consequently, the Quail clone is excluded here provisionally and listed separately.

• • Thai names: ไผ่เลี้ยง (phai liang) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ/, ไผ่สร้างไพร (phai sang phrai); "liang" = to keep, to grow, domestic. The Thai name, Phai Liang, can be translated as "domestic bamboo". It indicates that this bamboo is not known in the wild, only in cultivation. The other Thai name, Phai Sang Phrai, is mainly applied in central and north­eastern Thailand. Two other names, ไผ่เชียงไพร (phai chiang phrai) and เพ็ก (phek), cited in BKF [#1368], could refer to ×Thyrsocalamus liang or Bambusa multiplex. The following other names are also assigned to Phai Liang: ไผ่เลี้ยงหนัก (phai liang nak), nak = heavy, hard; ไผ่คันร่ม (phai khan rom), khan rom = umbrella rod; ไผ่รวกดำ (phai ruak dam), dam = dark, black; ไผ่ฮวกดำ (phai huak dam) (สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน (suan phai nana phan suan), Facebook, 6 Oct. 2021).

  • Malay name: buluh madu (buluh = bamboo, madu = honey, implying sweet, referring to the taste of young shoots).

  • Indonesian name: bambu madu.

  • English names: Liang Bamboo /ˈlíːaŋ bæmˈbuː/; Thai Silk Bamboo. It seems that an English name has not been created and applied to Phai Liang during the early years of its introduction into Western horticulture, instead the name "Bambusa nana" was apparently adopted by US horticulturists and possibly first applied to a plant that was brought to the USA (supposedly in the 1970s). This plant is referred to as the Quail clone, or as Bambusa nana hort. 'Quail'. The epithet is possibly derived from Latin "nana" (dwarf, small, short) and probably not from Thai "นานา" (transcription: nana). When this bamboo arrived in the USA as a small plant, it was perhaps similar to the then well-known Bambusa multiplex, and was named "Bambusa nana" as this was the name that was applied to Bambusa multiplex in earlier times. At Quail Botanical Gardens, this bamboo developed into a tall plant but was never identified and the name, "Bambusa nana", remained unchanged. Later, when Phai Liang was introduced into the USA, the name "Bambusa nana" was adopted for Phai Liang because its general appearance is quite similar to the Quail clone, and then the name "Bambusa nana" was also used for Phai Liang in Australia and Europe where it was introduced as well.

  • Distribution: THAILAND, widely and frequently cultivated, is said not to be known in the wild. — MALAYSIA, cultivated. — SINGAPORE, cultivated. — INDONESIA (Java), cultivated. — LAOS, cultivated. — CHINA: southern Yunnan: 勐海镇 勐腊镇 Menghai County and Mengla County, both in Xishuangbanna Autonomous Tai Prefecture, cultivated at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), as "大泰竹 [dà tài zhú, translated Big Thai Bamboo] Thyrsostachys oliveri Gamble". — Possibly also cultivated in MYANMAR, CAMBODIA, and VIETNAM.

  • Culm size: Height up to 15 (18) m, diameter to 6.3 (7?) cm.

  • Descriptions:

  • (1) Habit tight caespitose. Rhizome pachymorph, 10–30 (50) cm long; neck short. Culms erect, straight, 10–15 m tall, slightly bending outwards above. Young shoots covered with minute soft pale hairs, blades erect, dark colored; emerge from June to September. Culm-internodes terete, (20) 25–35 (39) cm long on the mid-culm, diameter 3–5 (6.5) cm [to 7.6 cm was recorded]; usually mid-green to dark green, glabrous, almost glossy, occasionally very thinly covered with white waxiness throughout, or most internodes of the basal and lower culm scattered with soft short silvery-white hairs when young, sometimes developing with age into an extended permanent whitish surface on basal internodes only; thick-walled, basally solid. Culm-nodes flat or slightly prominent, glabrous, with a narrow, 4–6 mm wide light gray band below and above the sheath scar on young culms; supranodal line obscure; occasionally with a few short aerial roots on the first or first two basal nodes; without thorns. Branch-buds solitary, elliptic to subrotund, broader than tall, from the first basal node up. Branches initially 3, the central one dominant, with two subdominant branches, and, on the upper culm, additional but slender branches develop, all together to about 10; without branches on the basal and lower nodes, buds usually remain dormant on the first 14–20 nodes in mature clumps; branching intravaginal; rebranching, but the buds on the first few branch nodes usually remain dormant. Culm-leaves deciduous, but the lowermost sheaths may remain tightly or loosely attached to the culm and decay on it. Culm-leaf sheaths 30 (40) cm long, 15–20 cm wide near the sheath base, almost as long as or a little longer than the internode, rigid, scattered with short soft shiny silvery-white to light brownish appressed hairs when young, dull light brownish and nearly glabrous when dry; margins short pale ciliate when young, entire when dry; apex horizontally truncate, 2–4 cm wide. Culm-leaf auricles inconspicuous, waved, very short and very low rims, blackish when young, rarely with a few very short pale early caducous bristles. Culm-leaf ligule as wide as the sheath apex, dark brown, the base short, 3–5 mm high, irregularly fringed, fringes short, ca. 2–6 mm high. Culm-leaf blades thickly papery, usually persistent to the sheath, erect at the lower and mid-culm, slightly spreading at the mid-culm and upper culm, triangular, darker than the sheath when young, the base of the blade two-thirds as wide as the sheath apex. Foliage-leaves 5–8 (12) per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths light green when young, dull straw-colored when dry, glabrous; margins eciliate. Foliage-leaf auricles none, bristles none. Foliage-leaf ligule inconspicuous, less than 1 mm high, entire. Foliage-leaf blades thinly papery, dull mid-green to dark green, glabrous on both surfaces, small and narrow, linear-lanceolate, usually 10–14 cm long, 0.7–1.1 cm wide; base rounded to cuneate; apex attenuate; margins antrorsely scabrous; midrib proximally slightly prominent beneath, light green; pseudopetiole 1 mm long.

  • (2) W. L. Goh & al., in Phytotaxa, vol. 362(3), 2018: p. 279 [#1267].

  • Uses: Shoots for food; culms for construction, fencing, furniture, handicrafts, and potentially paper pulp; plants as garden ornamentals and for tall hedges.

  • Cultivation requirements: Easy-growing, thrives well in heavy moist soil with good drainage, exposed to full sun, tolerates partial and light shade, tolerates flooding.

  • Flowering cycle: Unknown, no gregarious flowering is known, sporadic flowering with occasional and rather limited seed production is known to occur.

  • Seed viability: Unknown, viability lasts at least 3 months.

  • Comments:

  • (1) This species might have been treated by botanists in early times and has been considered to be Bambusa nana Roxb. (in ชื่พรรณไม้ในเมืองไทย, [2525 B.E., = 1982 C.E.]: p. 336), which is commonly treated as a synonym of Bambusa multiplex (Lour.) Raeusch. ex Schult., a bamboo only known in cultivation. However, Phai Liang is not conspecific with Bambusa multiplex, and culm sheaths are markedly different, and other characteristics (culm wall thickness, foliage leaf blades) differ substantially, too.

  • (2) On page 72 in Iconographia Bambusoidearum Sinicarum by T. P. Yi & al., 2008 [#1178], a bamboo is described (in Chinese) and illustrated with 4 photos (showing habit and culm sheaths) under the name "1. 大泰竹 [dà tài zhú, bigger Thai bamboo] Thyrsostachys oliveri Gamble". Judging on the basis of these photos, there is no doubt that the illustrated bamboo is true Phai Liang 'Dam' as described herein under BS-0001-1.

  • (3) Plantings of ไผ่เลี้ยง (phai liang) were found mislabeled as "Bambusa multiplex" in Royal Flora Ratchaphruek, Chiang Mai, although true Bambusa multiplex exists in this garden, too. Misidentification has continued since the 1980s or earlier.

  • (4) ไผ่เลี้ยง (phai liang) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ/ is not to be confused with ไผ่เหลือง (phai lueang) /'pʰàj 'lɯ̌ːaŋ/ of similar pronunciation.

  • (5) Seeds are rare. A discovery in late 2012 and early 2013 of a few seedlings on the ground of flowering plants (which are doubtless Phai Liang) gave rise to the hope that at least some clones are able to produce fertile flowers. Seeds have recently been discovered on a plant of Phai Liang in Krabi, but the seeds did not germinate.

  • (6) Seedlings have been raised from seeds collected from flowering plants in Thailand in 2014: สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน, on Facebook, 14 July 2018, 13 July 2018, 23 June 2018, 4 May 2018, 1 May 2018, and 28 Apr. 2018. Flowering has been recorded from Surin Province by Jeera Makmee, on Facebook, 18 Apr. 2021. Seeds offered by Jeera Makmee, on Facebook, 24 Apr. 2021.

  • (7) Phai Liang has proven to be capable of natural sexual reproduction in a cultivated environment under non-optimal conditions, hence, there is reason to assume that this species could easily get established and locally naturalized under more favorable environmental conditions. Reproduction was observed in-situ Bambusetum Baan Sammi over a period of about 3 months. Seeds depend on much and continuous moisture (from precipitation) and sufficient light under shade. Seeds are not capable of developing on dry sites with ground cover plants.

  • (8) Phai Liang is said not to have been found in the wild. However, I received two plants (BS-0042, and BS-0047, see below) very similar to Phai Liang, collected from Phetchabun by ธ. ล., who insisted that he collected these bamboos "from the wild". Unfortunately, the plants in cultivation died later, and their identity remains unresolved.

• • Thai names: ไผ่เลี้ยงดำ (phai liang dam) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈdam/, "dam" = black, dark; ไผ่เลี้ยงหนัก (phai liang nak), "nak" = heavy, hard; ไผ่สร้างไพร (phai sang phrai), "sang" = to construct, to build, "phrai" = forest, jungle; ไผ่เลี้ยงบันได (phai liang ban dai), "ban dai" = ladder; ไผ่เลี้ยงบ้าน (phai liang ban), "ban" = village, house; ไผ่รวกดำ (phai ruak dam), "dam" = black, dark. — ดำ (dam) in this context means dark (in the sense of dark green) but not black; a mutation of black culms in Phai Liang is not yet known.

  • English name: Dark Green Liang Bamboo /ˈdɑrk ˈɡriːn ˈlíːaŋ bæmˈbuː/.

  • Distribution: THAILAND, widely known in cultivation, but less common in southern Thailand.

  • Local distribution: Widely and intensively planted in urban areas of Chiang Mai; probably the most appreciated and best-sold bamboo at Kham Thiang Market, available throughout the year. At Kham Thiang Market, this bamboo can be found planted several hundred meters along the Market's border as a windbreak or visual screen.

  • Culm size: Height 10–12 (15) m, diameter 3.5–4.5 (5.5) cm.

  • Characteristics (distinctive, vegetative): Culm-internodes dark green. Culm-nodes with broad oval-shaped large buds; sheath scar mid-brown to dark brown. Culm-leaf sheaths in young shoots light to mid-cinnamon-colored and sparsely covered with minute soft pale hairs, sheath margins occasionally light purplish. Culm-leaf blades dark brownish green to dark reddish brown. Foliage-leaf blades dark green, usually 10–14 cm long, 0.7–1.1 cm wide.

  • Images: Photos in A. Anantachot, 1991: p. 33 [#1041].
    
    

• • Specimens: BS-0001-1 [S1] [W1] (living plants), Chiang Mai, cult., received as "ไผ่เลี้ยง (phai liang)", 2003. BS-0001-3 and BS-0001-4 [W2] (living plants), Chiang Mai, cult., 2008.

  • Characteristics: Culm-internodes dark green, 20–30(–32) cm long, to 6.5 cm in diameter, glabrous, occasionally with scattered soft short white hairs mainly at the upper part of the internode, thin white waxiness on the internodes of the basal culm only, sometimes developing with age into an extended permanent whitish surface on the basal culm only. Culm-nodes with large broad elliptic buds (1.9) 2.0 × (1.4) 1.5 cm; sheath scar mid-brown to dark brown. Culm-leaf sheaths slightly shorter than the internode, ca. 3/4–4/5 of the internode length; in young shoots light to mid-cinnamon-colored and scattered with short appressed hairs, the hairs initially silvery-white, early changing to pale brown; sheath margins occasionally light purplish. Culm-leaf blades dark brownish green to dark reddish brown. Foliage-leaf blades dark green, usually 10–14 cm long, 0.7–1.1 cm wide.

  • Uses: Shoots are edible and of good taste. Culms are strong and used for construction purposes; furniture and ladders are preferably made of this variant. Plants are highly valued as ornamental garden plants and are best suited as solitary plants, or planted in a row as a tall privacy screen, or as a tall-trimmed hedge.

• • Specimens: None collected (living plant), from Laos.

  • Images: Post and photos by Niramit Sareerudt, on Facebook, 7 Feb. 2014: Flowering of "ไผ่เลี้ยงดำ" (phai liang dam), "Bambusa nana", in Laos.

  • Comments: No seeds were found. The photos clearly show that the plant from Laos represents Phai Liang 'Dam'.

• • Thai names: ไผ่เลี้ยงเชียงราย (phai liang chiang rai) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈtɕʰiːaŋ ˈraːj/; ไผ่เลี้ยงเชียงคำ (phai liang chiang kham) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈtɕʰiːaŋ ˈkʰam/; ไผ่รวกเชียงคำ (phai ruak chiang kam).

  • English name: Chiang Rai Liang Bamboo /ˈtɕʰiːaŋ ˈraːj ˈlíːaŋ bæmˈbuː/.

  • Distribution: THAILAND (North): Chiang Rai Province, cultivated.

  • Culm size: Not recorded.

• • Thai names: ไผ่เลี้ยงหวาน (phai liang wan) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈwǎːn/, "wan" = sweet, thus indicating that the taste of young shoots is delicious; ไผ่เลี้ยงหน่อ (phai liang no), "no" = shoot; ไผ่เลี้ยงเบา (phai liang bao), "bao" = light; ไผ่เลี้ยงสามฤดู (phai liang sam redu), "sam redu" = three seasons; ไผ่เลี้ยงหัวโตพันธุ์เบา (phai liang hua to phan bao), "huo to" = big head, "phan" = species, variety, "bao" = light; ไผ่เขียวอิสาน (phai khiao isan), "khiao" = green, "isan" = northeastern Thailand.

  • English name: Sweet Liang Bamboo /ˈswiːt ˈlíːaŋ bæmˈbuː/.

  • Distribution: THAILAND, widely known in cultivation.

  • Local distribution: Although widely planted in urban areas of Chiang Mai, it is less frequently found than Phai Liang 'Dam', and only occasionally available for sale at Kham Thiang Market. It has been intensively cultivated in Prachin Buri Province (central Thailand) and has mainly been distributed from there through­out Thailand.

  • Culm size: Of the same height as, or somewhat lower than Phai Liang 'Dam', diameter slightly thicker, 4.0–5.5 (6.0) cm.

  • Characteristics (distinctive, vegetative): Culm-internodes mid-green, terete but occasionally with a slight sulcus above buds. Culm-nodes usually without a light gray band below and above the sheath scar, or if present then early fading; with mid-sized buds (1.3) 1.6 × (1.1) 1.3 cm; sheath scar light brownish. Culm-leaf sheaths in young shoots glabrous, or thinly covered with early caducous soft pale hairs, green (from light green to brownish green), occasionally with a few narrow cream streaks, or with broad blackish streaks or small blackish dots; sheath margins initially dark purplish. Culm-leaf blade dark purplish. Foliage-leaf blades initially light green, changing to mid-green or dark green, blades slightly smaller in average length and width, 5.5–9 cm long and 0.8–1.0 cm wide.

  • Images: Post and photos of ไผ่เลี้ยงหวาน (phai liang wan) by สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน (suan phai nana phan suan) on Facebook, 12 Feb. 2014, and 10 Feb. 2014,  plants in flower show red anthers.

• • Specimen: BS-0215 [S6] (living plant), received from cultivated stock as ไผ่หวาน (phai wan) from Kham Thiang Market, Chiang Mai, 5 May 2009.

  • Characteristics: Culms, young shoots, culm-leaves, and foliage-leaves are very similar to those of ไผ่เลี้ยงหวาน (phai liang wan) (BS-0001-2); culm-leaves occasionally with white streaks.

• • Comments:

  • (1) The mature plant in 2017 clearly shows that it belongs to the same species as Phai Liang 'Dam' or Phai Liang 'Wan', and differences, if there are any, are clonal variations.

  • (2) The first seedlings were detected on the ground around the mother plant after several days of irrigation and a single day of heavy rain on 21 April 2018.

  • (3) The first seedling, when discovered, had already developed 3 leaf blades and was dug out of the ground the same day. The naked seed was still attached. It was about 6 mm long and 2–3 mm thick. A second and a third seedling were found soon thereafter. All the seedlings were potted for further development and observation.

  • (4) The area around the mother plant was then irrigated daily or every second day.

  • (5) Over several weeks, altogether, 117 seedlings were detected, collected, and potted, the last one on 15 June 2018. Soon the seedlings were transferred to Boonthammee Bamboo Garden, Hang Dong.

  • (6) At Boonthammee Bamboo Garden, about 15 plants survived, which were planted out in early 2020; some plants grew 2 meters tall.

  • (7) Differences in characteristics were not yet clearly recognizable (Sep. 2020), but most of the culm-leaves were persistent, whereas the culm-leaves of the mother plant were deciduous.

  • (8) In December 2021, the seedlings that were grown up at Boonthammee Bamboo Garden reached a sufficient size to evaluate their characteristics. All the plants looked disappointing, none of the seedlings resembled their mother plant, as can be seen in photos BS-0215A_017(BBG).jpg to BS-0215A_030(BBG).jpg. It was decided to no longer keep these seedlings in cultivation.

  • (9) Apparently, the species is capable of producing viable seeds. The seeds are medium in size but big enough to be felt by gently pressing a spikelet between two fingers while the plant is in flower. Because seeds had not been detected in the spikelets during flowering, they were apparently rarely produced.

  • (10) From the observation of natural reproduction, the following can be assumed: Seeds are seldom produced. Seeds remain viable during a drought period for at least the first 3 months. The developed radicles are not strong and need constant humidity. A single day of insufficient moisture can cause the first leaf blade to wither, and the seedling could die. Germination is good on humus-rich loose soils with decaying leaf litter, in light shade without ground cover plants.

• • Specimens: BS-0189 [†] (living plant), obtained from Kham Thiang Market, Chiang Mai, as "ไผ่เลี้ยงทวาย (phai liang thawai)", or "ไผ่ทวาย (phai thawai)", 15 Oct. 2008, planted, then died in 2012 after flowering. BS-0189-1 [‑] (living plants), obtained from Kham Thiang Market, Chiang Mai, as "ไผ่เลี้ยงทวาย (phai liang thawai)", May 2011, all plants distributed.

  • Characteristics: Rhizomes short, pachymorph, forming a tight clump. Young shoots emerge from March; light to dark green, occasionally with yellowish-green or cream streaks when emerging, glabrous. Culm-internodes light green, glabrous, thick-walled. Branch complement with one dominant branch. Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheaths green with light green streaks when young, darker green toward the apex, glabrous, smooth. Culm-leaf auricles and bristles none. Culm-leaf ligule conspicuous, brownish-green, margin ciliate. Foliage-leaf sheaths light green when young, straw-colored when dry, glabrous. Foliage-leaf blades green, small, glabrous on both surfaces.

  • Uses: Shoots for food.

  • Cultivation requirements: Same as in Phai Liang 'Dam' (BS-0001-1).

  • Provisional identification: This plant is similar in habit and general appearance to BS-0001-2, ไผ่เลี้ยงหวาน (phai liang wan). The plant before flowering clearly shows that it belongs to the same species as Phai Liang 'Dam' or Phai Liang 'Wan', and differences, if there are any, are clonal variations.

  • Comments:

  • (1) This bamboo started gregarious flowering at Baan Sammi in Dec. 2011 and died in 2012. Not a single seed could be found.

  • (2) I cannot find clear distinguishing characteristics between Phai Liang 'Wan' and Phai Liang 'Thawai'.

  • (3) According to the seller at Kham Thiang Market, Phai Liang 'Thawai' is said to be the smallest variety of the Phai Liang group, reaching a culm height of only 10 m with a diameter up to 4 cm. Supposedly, this limit in size can be obtained if the clump is subject to annual shoot harvesting (intended when selling this variety), otherwise, the plant would grow somewhat taller.

• • Specimens: None collected (living plant); Nan Province, northern Thailand, in cultivation.

  • Images: Post and photos of a flowering plant in Nan, northern Thailand, by Nanbamboo น่านแบมบู on Facebook, 8 Feb. 2014. Post and photos of plants in Nan, by Thoop Nakasen, on Facebook (1), (2), (3), 13 Feb. 2014.

  • Comments: Seeds were collected from the flowering plants in Nan. Photos of the flowers show the anthers in red.

• • Specimen: BS-0146 [BBG] (living plant, non-flowering), received from Boonthammee Bamboo Garden, Hang Dong, Chiang Mai Province, as ไผ่เลี้ยงหวาน (phai liang wan), 28 Feb. 2014.

• • Thai name: ไผ่เลี้ยงลำสีเหลือง (phai liang lam si lueang) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈlam ˈsǐː ˈlɯ̌ːaŋ/.

  • English name: Sunburn Liang Bamboo /ˈsʌnˌbɜːrn ˈlíːaŋ bæmˈbuː/ (no records known, suggested here).

  • Distribution: THAILAND (North), cultivated, possibly widely distributed throughout Thailand.

  • Culm size: Height less tall and the diameter smaller than in ไผ่เลี้ยงดำ (phai liang dam).

• • Thai names: ไผ่เลี้ยงแค่นดิ (phai liang khaendi) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈkʰændɪ/; ไผ่เลี้ยงแคนดี้ (phai liang khaendi); ไผ่เลี้ยงวิมานทอง (phai liang wiman thong); ไผ่เลี้ยงลายทอง (phai liang lai thong).

  • English names: Candy Liang Bamboo /ˈkʰændɪ ˈlíːaŋ bæmˈbuː/; Wiman Thong Liang Bamboo; Candy Cane Bamboo.

  • Distribution: THAILAND, cultivated. This variety was discovered a few years before 2010 by Mr. Siraphop of Nana Phan Nursery in Prachin Buri (ปราจีนบุรี) as a single seedling derived from a flowering Phai Liang plant. This seedling developed a striped culm and was named 'Candy' by Mr. Siraphop. Then 'Candy' was propagated by marcotting at the Nana Phan nursery and plants were distributed (Mr. Siraphop, pers. comm., Facebook, 8 and 19 Sep. 2020). This variety was introduced as "Bambusa nana striata - Candy Cane Bamboo" to the USA in 2016 (Robert Saporito, Facebook, 3 July 2020).

  • Culm size: Height a little over 12 m, diameter usually 3.5–4.5 (5.5) cm, in a plant that may not yet have reached its ultimate size.

• • Thai name: ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈják/.

  • Distribution: THAILAND (North): Nan Province, cultivated at น่านแบมบู (Nan Bamboo), origin not recorded.

  • Culm size: Culm height taller and culm diameter thicker than in ไผ่เลี้ยงดำ (phai liang dam).

  • Specimens: No specimen available.

  • Characteristics: Culms erect, straight. Young shoots with spreading, narrow-lanceolate dark-greenish culm-leaf blades on the apex. Culm-internodes mid-green (light green when young), internodes on the lower culm occasionally with narrow whitish or yellowish-green stripes, surface evenly scattered with short pale hairs, may become glabrous with age; diameter to over 10 cm. Culm-nodes not prominent; obscure white ring above the nodal line, narrow white ring below the nodal line; basal nodes with aerial roots. Branches: with a central dominant branch and several small branches; rudimentary branching on the lower culm is present (there is usually no rudimentary branching present on the lower culm in Phai Liang). Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheath shorter than the internode, occasionally with narrow whitish streaks when young, greenish or yellowish brown or ocher-colored when young, evenly scattered with short brown hairs (when young); apex rounded (not truncate as in Phai Liang). Culm-leaf blade short, triangular on thelower culm, patent (not erect as in Phai Liang). Foliage-leaves about 6 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf blades mid-green, narrow-lanceolate (somewhat larger than in Phai Liang 'Dam'). Inflorescence arranged in tufts of reddish pseudospikelets (similar to Phai Liang 'Wan'), filaments white, anthers yellow (red in Phai Liang 'Wan'). — All characteristics have been judged from photos.

  • Comments:

  • (1) Plant in flower by February 2014. By August 2018, no information had been available about whether seeds had been developed, and if so, whether they had been collected or whether seedlings had been grown.

  • (2) Although the vegetative parts of ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) are similar to those of ไผ่เลี้ยง (phai liang), judging from photos, this bamboo is certainly not a member of the Phai Liang group. Flowers have not been studied yet, but the only obvious difference is that anthers are yellow in Phai Liang 'Yak', whereas they are red in all the plants of Phai Liang that I was able to observe (e.g., in Phai Liang 'Wan').

  • (3) It has been assumed that ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) from น่านแบมบู (Nan Bamboo) represents Dendrocalamus barbatus. It may be possible that ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) represents this species, but there is no proof.

  • (4) Another assumption is that ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) from น่านแบมบู (Nan Bamboo) is the same species as ผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) from สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน (Nana Phan). An indication of this assumption is that both were flowering around the same time. Unfortunately, flowering specimens and specimens of culm-leaves of the plants from Nana Phan are not available, nor are there photos that show the characteristics of flowers and culm-leaves.

  • References: Post incl. photos by Niramit Sareerudt, on Facebook, 24 Jan. 2014 (with photos of vegetative and flowering parts).

• • Thai names: ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈják/; ไผ่นกเขา (phai nok khao); ไผ่ตงจีน (phai tong chin); ไผ่เติมจีน (phai toem chin).

  • English names: Dove Bamboo; Giant Liang Bamboo.

  • Distribution: THAILAND (East): Prachin Buri Province; (Central): Nakhon Nayok Province; cultivated, origin not recorded.

  • Culm size: Height not recorded, diameter to 9.5 cm; culm height taller and culm diameter thicker than in ไผ่เลี้ยงดำ (phai liang dam).

  • Characteristics: Culms erect, straight. Young shoots with initially erect, narrow-lanceolate (or narrow-triangular?) greenish culm-leaf blades on the apex. Culm-internodes bluish-green (dark green with a bluish tint with age), surface thinly or thickly covered with white mealy(?) fuzz, the fuzz lasting (on the basal or lower culm); diameter to more than 8 cm, thick-walled (basally solid?). Culm-nodes not or slightly prominent; basal nodes with aerial roots. Branch-buds large broad ovate. Branches: with a central dominant branch and several small branches; rudiment branching on lower culm present (usually no rudiment branching is on the lower culm in Phai Liang). Culm-leaves deciduous, partly persistent on the lower culm. Culm-leaf sheath with a reddish tint when young, scattered with short brown hairs. — All characteristics have been judged from photos.

  • Uses: Shoots edible, tasteful but not sweet. Culms for construction. Plants can potentially be grown as garden ornamentals and for landscaping.

  • Comments:

  • (1) This bamboo has been in cultivation at สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน (Nana Phan Nursery), Prachin Buri, since about 2000.

  • (2) It has been reported by Nana Phan Nursery that one clump flowered about 2014 and died thereafter, and another clump has not (or has not yet) flowered. The flowering plant produced seeds, and seedlings were raised (Facebook, 22 July 2019), only one seedling survived, which was propagated by marcotting after 4 years of growth (Facebook, 2 Mar. 2019). The non-flowering plant was propagated by marcotting, too.

  • (3) It has been assumed that ไผ่เลี้ยงยักษ์ (phai liang yak) represents Dendrocalamus barbatus. However, judging from the photos (most photos show culms) by สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์, this bamboo is unlikely Dendrocalamus barbatus, but somewhat similar to another unidentified bamboo, → BS-0347 and BS-0234.

  • (4) Unfortunately, photos of the flowering branches and flowers are not available. Therefore, the identification as a member of the Phai Liang group remains unresolved.

  • References: Posts incl. photos by สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน on Facebook, 22 July 2019, 2 Mar. 2019, 29 Mar. 2918, 4 Aug. 2018, 19 July 2018, and 18 July 2018.

• • Specimens: BS-0937 [E3], and BS-0937-1 [BBG], living plants, Prachin Buri, สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน (Nana Phan Nursery), cult., a propagule of a non-flowering plant received as "Giant Phai Liang, Dove Bamboo, ไผ่นกเขา (phai nok khao)", 13 Dec. 2018.

  • Characteristics: Culms erect. Young shoots emerge from July to August. Culm-internodes straight, green, covered with white fuzz when young, bluish green and glabrous with age; basal diameter 9.5 cm, thick-walled (wall width 2.2 cm by 8.1 cm in diameter at a height of 62 cm above the ground). Culm-nodes not prominent, with a white ring below when young. Branch-buds large broad ovate, present from the basal node up. Branches several, the central one notably dominant, and 2 side branches dominant, the other branches slender. Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheath yellowish-green to cinnamon-colored (similar to Phai Liang 'Dam') when young, straw-colored when dry, scattered with deciduous short white hairs or fuzz. Culm-leaf auricles, ligule and blade as in Phai Liang 'Dam'. Foliage-leaves 6–9 (11) per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheath keeled, glabrous, green to orange-green when young. Foliage-leaf auricles and ligule inconspicuous, without bristles. Foliage-leaf blades linear-lanceolate, 13–23 (25) × 1.7–2.0 (2.3) cm, glabrous and green on both surfaces; base rounded to cuneate; apex attenuate; midvein proximally slightly prominent and light green beneath; margins antrorsely scabrous; pseudopetiole 2–3 mm long.

  • Comments: The vegetative characteristics of the two specimens will be seen more clearly when the plants develop thicker new culms in 2023 and 2024. Although their flowers are not yet known, it is more likely that the specimens represent Phai Liang, and they are more similar to Phai Liang 'Dam' than to Phai Liang 'Wan'.

• • Thai name: ไผ่เลี้ยงขน (phai liang khon) /ˈpʰàj ˈlíːaŋ ˈkʰǒn/.

  • Distribution: THAILAND, cult., without precise locality, origin not recorded.

  • Culm size: Judging from photos of the basal culm, this bamboo certainly exceeds 10 m in height.

  • Specimens: No specimen available.

  • Characteristics: No description available; the description of the following features is based on photos: Young shoot conical, dark-green, with erect or slightly patent triangular culm-leaf blades, with culm-leaf auricles. Culm-internode glossy mid-green, apparently glabrous. Culm-node not prominent; with a white ring above and below the nodal line; basal nodes with aerial roots. Branch-buds large, broad-ovate. Culm-leaves apparently deciduous. Foliage-leaf blades mid-green, narrowly lanceolate; base rounded to wedge-shaped; apex long pointed.

  • Comments: Judging from the photos, this bamboo could be the same species as the unidentified species, whose description is based on the specimens → BS-0347 and BS-0234. These specimens have internodes with a kind of pubescent hair, and the general appearance of the plants is similar to the Phai Liang Bamboo.

  • References: Post incl. photos by Niramit Sareerudt, on Facebook, 16 Aug. 2018, as "ไผ่เลี้ยงขน", "Bambusa nana pubescens" (with photos of basal culm, young shoot, and foliage-leaves).
    
    

• • Thai name: ไผ่ด้ามขวาน (phai dam khwan); "dam khwan" = ax handle.

  • Distribution: THAILAND, cultivated, is said to be mainly distributed in the northeastern part (Isan).

  • References: ส. เคชวิสิทธิ์ [S. Khetwisit], การปลูกไม้ไผ่ (kan pluk mai phai) [Cultivation of Bamboos], 2001 [2544 B.E.], p. 102 no. 35 [#1004]. — Nana Phanmai [#1037, no longer accessible online] — K. Thaion [เกรียงไกร ไทยอ่อน] (ed.), มหัศจรรย์พันธุ์ไผ่ (mahatsachan phan phai) [Wonderful Bamboos], 2009 [2552 B.E.]: p. 10 n. 16, col. ill. [#1117]. — Phai Setkit (ไผ่เศรษฐกิจ) [Economy of Bamboo], 2007 [2550 B.E.]: p. 73, b&w ill. [#1118].  — สวนไผ่แทนคุณ TK Bamboo Farm, video on Facebook, 2 Aug. 2020. — สวนไผ่แทนคุณ TK Bamboo Farm, video on Facebook, 10 Apr. 2020. — ทำไม้ไผ่ ครบงวจร ขายต้นไผ่ กล้าไผ่ เฟอร์เจอร์ไผ่ ถ่านไม้ไผ่, video on Facebook, 3 Nov. 2019.