Bambusa oldhamii
Bambusa oldhamii Munro, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 26 (1), 1868: 109.
Synonyms: Leleba oldhamii (Munro) Nakai; Sinocalamus oldhamii (Munro) McClure; Dendrocalamopsis oldhamii (Munro) Keng f.; Bambusa atrovirens T. H. Wen; Dendrocalamopsis atrovirens (T. H. Wen) Keng f. ex W. T. Lin.
Chinese name: 绿竹 (pinyin transcription: lǜ zhú), which translates as "green bamboo".
English names: Oldham Bamboo; Oldham's Bamboo.
Distribution: THAILAND: introduced, in cultivation. — CHINA (South), native to southern mainland China; introduced to Taiwan in early times.
Descriptions:
(1) "Culms 6–12 m, 3–9 cm in diam.; internodes slightly flexuose, 20–35 cm, initially white powdery, glabrous; wall 4–12 mm thick; nodes flat. Branches many from mid-culm up, 3 dominant. Culm sheaths deciduous, leathery, dark brown spinous-hairy, soon glabrescent; auricles small, rounded, ciliate; ligule ca. 1 mm, subentire; blade erect, base ca. 1/2 as wide as sheath apex. Leaf sheaths initially hispid; ligule truncate, ca. 1 mm; auricles suborbicular; oral setae few; blade oblong-lanceolate, 15–30 × 3–6 cm. … [flowers described]. Caryopsis unknown. New shoots May–Nov, fl. summer–autumn." — Flora of China [#1303].
(2) "… caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 1000–1600 cm long; woody; without nodal roots. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 17–20 cm long; light green. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement one, or two, or three. Culm-sheaths 7.5 cm long; glabrous. Culm-sheath blade triangular; erect, or spreading; 0.6 cm long. Leaves cauline. Leaf-sheaths striately veined; hirsute. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 5.5 cm long; 12 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 10–12 secondary veins; without cross veins. Leaf-blade surface pubescent; hairy abaxially. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate. … [flowers described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
(3) Flora of Taiwan [#1106].
Images: Line drawing in Flora of China 1, 2 [#1303]; Flora of Taiwan [#1106].
Cultivation requirements: Easy growing; in part shade to full sun, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist.
Comments: Flowers are known, seeds unknown; photos of flowers and additional information: Bamboo seeds @YunnanBambooCo on Facebook, 30 Nov. 2019.
Bambusa oldhamii cl. Phai Yok (shoot production strain)
Thai names: ไผ่หยก (phai yok); ไผ่หลี่จู๋ (phai li chu); ไผ่ลี้จู๋ (phai li chu); ไผ่ลุ่ยจู๋ (phai lui chu). When Bambusa oldhamii was introduced from Taiwan into Thailand, the Chinese name was adopted by the Thai and transcribed into ไผ่ลุ่ยจู๋ (phai lui chu, or spelling variant "phai lu chu"), ไผ่หลี่จู๋ (phai li chu), or ไผ่ลี้จู๋ (phai li chu), and used as a Thai common name for this bamboo in some publications. The Royal Projects (at Mae Hia, Pangda, and Doi Ang Khang in Chiang Mai Province) applied their own Thai name, ไผ่หยก (phai yok). — BKF [#1368].
Distribution: Introduced from Taiwan to Thailand, presumably in the 1960s. Chiefly cultivated in central and northern Thailand. Later in 2009, it became known that a huge plantation with plants of the shoot production strain exists in southern California, U.S.A.; the plants came from Taiwan.
Local distribution: Intensively cultivated, propagated, and distributed by the Royal Project in northern Thailand; occasionally found planted in the Chiang Mai area, rarely offered for sale at Kham Thiang Market, Chiang Mai.
Images: Photos in AsianFlora (habit) [#1332].
Specimens: BS-0204 [BBG], BS-0271 [-] (living plants).
Characteristics: Rhizome pachymorph, short. Culms erect, 6–8 (10?) m tall, not stiffly upright, bending, forming a V-shaped clump habit. Young shoots dull brownish green, emerge from late April. Culm-internodes medium to dark green, glabrous, moderately thick-walled (3rd internode 51 cm above the ground with a wall of 7 mm by 2.7 cm culm diameter). Branches several, the central one dominant, from the lower culm up; branching predominantly extravaginal. Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheath glabrous, light green or orange-green when young, light straw-colored when dry. Culm-leaf auricles small, bristles pale. Culm-leaf ligule entire. Foliage-leaves 6–8 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths orange when young, dull straw-colored when dry, initially hairy, soon becoming glabrous and smooth. Foliage-leaf auricles small, bristles few, 5 mm long, pale. Foliage-leaf ligule inconspicuous; Foliage-leaf blades small to medium-sized, usually 9–15 cm long and 1.6–3.0 cm wide, medium to dark green, glabrous on both surfaces, upper surface somewhat glossy.
Uses: Shoots for food, very palatable.
Bambusa oldhamii (BS-0204): Upper part of a culm-leaf, showing auricle and blade, sheath glabrous
Bambusa oldhamii f. revoluta W. T. Lin & J. Y. Lin, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 26 (3), 1988: 224-225.
Synonyms: Dendrocalamopsis oldhamii f. revoluta (W. T. Lin & J. Y. Lin) W. T. Lin; Neosinocalamus revolutus (W. T. Lin & J. Y. Lin) T. H. Wen; Sinocalamus oldhamii f. revolutus (W. T. Lin & J. Y. Lin) W. T. Lin; Bambusa oldhamii f. gimmei hort.
Distribution: CHINA: Guangdong. — Not recorded to occur in Thailand.
Images: Photos in AsianFlora (culms, branches, leaves) [#1332].
Characteristics: Culm-internodes with yellow stripes. Culm-leaf sheaths glabrous. Culm-leaf ligule denticulate.
Bambusa oldhamii cl. US (landscape clone)
Thai name: ไผ่หยก สหรัฐอเมริกา (phai yok saharat amerika).
Distribution: Introduced from southern China into the U.S.A., possibly in the first half of the 20th century, mainly planted in California and Florida. Introduced from the U.S.A. into Thailand in 2010, or maybe earlier.
Culm size: Height 10–20 m, diameter 5–10 cm.
Images: Photos in TropicalBamboo; BobRicci; BambooWeb.info [#1340]; BambooCraft.net [#1341]; bamboodirect.com on Facebook, 11 Mar. 2015.
Specimens: BS-0333 [E3], BS-0452 [-] (living plants).
Characteristics: Culms up to 20 m tall, erect, stiffly upright, tips drooping (appearance cascade-like). Young shoots green, apex glabrous, culm-leaf blade erect; emerge from May to September. Branches many, from the mid-culm up, fairly short; branching intravaginal. Culm-leaf sheaths covered with dark brown hairs. Foliage-leaf sheaths hairy.
Uses: Plants for landscaping, as solitary or in groups for tall screening, most suitable for tight-space screening and windbreaks.
Cultivation requirements: Easy and vigorous-growing; in part shade to full sun, best in 5.5–6.5 pH soils, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist, tolerates wind, heat, drought, and a wide range of atmospheric moisture.
Comments: This bamboo is widely distributed in the southern USA, and is known there as Bambusa oldhamii. Doubts have been raised as to whether this and the Thai shoot production strain represent the same species.
Bambusa oldhamii (BS-0333): Culm-leaf, lower part of sheath dark hairy