Bambusa variostriata
Bambusa variostriata (W. T. Lin) L. C. Chia & H. L. Fung, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 18 (2), 1980: 215.
Synonyms: Sinocalamus variostriatus W. T. Lin; Dendrocalamopsis variostriata (W. T. Lin) Keng f.; Neosinocalamus variostriatus (W. T. Lin) J. F. Zuo.
Thai name: No known records.
Chinese name: 吊丝箪竹 (diao si dan zhu).
Distribution: THAILAND: introduced, in cultivation, rare. — CHINA (South): Guangdong, in lowlands, hilly areas.
Descriptions:
(1) "Culms 5–12 m, 4–7 cm in diam., apically long pendulous; internodes initially with lilac stripes, 15–30 cm, initially pubescent; wall 8–10 mm thick; nodes flat; branching from culm base up. Branches many, main ones slightly dominant at mid-culm. Culm sheaths deciduous, leathery, with deciduous, yellow, spinous hairs; auricles slightly conspicuous, oblong; oral setae few, 4–6 mm; ligule 3–9 mm, entire or serrulate; blade erect, base ca. 1/2 as wide as sheath apex, adaxially hispid. Leaf sheaths subglabrous; ligule truncate, ca. 1 mm; auricles minute; oral setae few; blade narrowly lanceolate, 13–26 × 1.6–3 cm. … [flowers described, seeds unknown]." — Flora of China [#1303].
(2) "Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; pendulous at the tip; 500–1200 cm long; 40–70 mm diam.; woody; without nodal roots. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 15–20 cm long; mid-green and purple; striped; distally pubescent. Culm-nodes flush with internodes. Lateral branches dendroid; arising from lower culm. Branch complement many. Culm-sheaths deciduous; coriaceous; hispid; with yellow hairs; auriculate; setose on shoulders; shoulders with 4–6 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 3–9 mm high; entire, or dentate. Culm-sheath blade triangular; erect; hispid. Leaves cauline. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath oral hairs scanty. Leaf-sheath auricles falcate. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long; truncate. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 13–26 cm long; 16–30 mm wide. … [flowers described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
Images: Line drawing in Flora of China [#1303]. Photos in BambooWeb.info (culms, leaves, habit) [#1340].
Uses: Shoots for food; culms for light construction; plants for gardens and landscaping (privacy screen, natural hedge).
Bambusa cf. variostriata
Specimen: BS-0485 [W2] (living plant), received from cultivated stock from Australia as "Bambusa variostriata", June 2010.
Characteristics: Habit unicaespitose, dense. Rhizome pachymorph, short. Culms straight or slightly zig-zag, erect below, bending outwards above, 6 m long. Young shoots conical, purplish green, emerge from April to August. Culm-internodes terete, 30–35 (37) cm long, mid-green, glabrous, initially farinose; diameter 1.5–3 cm; walls moderately thick. Culm-nodes glabrous, not or slightly prominent; nodal line blackish when young, horizontal or somewhat oblique, dipping slightly below the bud; sheath scar marginally protruding; supranodal line obscure, without a ridge, ca. 6 mm above the nodal line, farinose between the nodal line and supranodal line, initially farinose ca. 5 mm below the nodal line; aerial roots none. Branch-buds solitary, subrotund to broad-ovate, from the basal node up. Branches few to several, unequal, the central one dominant, usually unbranched on the first four nodes; branching intravaginal, exceptionally extravaginal on the lower branches; branching development basipetal (apex towards base); rebranching. Culm-leaves early deciduous. Culm-leaf sheath ca. 10 cm wide at the base, ca. 13 cm long, shape like a Gaussian bell curve, about half as long as the internode; leathery, rigid; purplish-green to brownish when young, light straw-colored when dry, initially with a few scattered short dark rigid hairs, becoming glabrous soon; apex rounded; margins initially short pale ciliate, eciliate when dry. Culm-leaf auricles very small, somewhat unequal in shape and size, the larger one ovate, ca. 3 mm broad and 2 mm high, erect, dark-colored when young, with a few waved short pale bristles. Culm-leaf ligule very low, 1 mm high, entire. Culm-leaf blades leathery, erect, persistent, triangular, with slightly rounded basal edges, base ca. 2.8 cm wide, ca. 6.5 cm high, initially scattered with a few short rigid blackish hairs, when dry almost glabrous, light straw-colored when dry; apex acuminate; margins eciliate. Foliage-leaves ca. 8 (7–9) per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths green when young, light straw-colored when dry, scattered with a few short dark hairs, almost glabrous when dry; apex truncate; margins eciliate. Foliage-leaf auricles inconspicuous, ovate, to ca. 2 mm wide and 1 mm high, with a few pale waved bristles 3–5 mm long. Foliage-leaf ligule inconspicuous. Foliage-leaf blades lanceolate, 8.5–11 × 2.0–2.5 cm, glabrous on both surfaces; base broadly rounded; apex attenuate; margins antrorsely scaberulous; midvein almost indistinct; pseudopetiole short, 1 mm long. Flowers and seeds are unknown.
Cultivation requirements: Grows in part shade to full sun, best in 5.5–6.5 pH soils, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist with good drainage.
Comments:
(1) BS-0485 differs from the above descriptions of Bambusa variostriata mainly in the following characteristics:
(1.1) When mature, the plant size of BS-0485 is smaller than that of Bambusa variostriata, as the plant has only reached a culm length of 6 m and a diameter of 3 cm after 14 years. While there is potential for BS-0485 to grow taller over the next several years, it seems unlikely to reach an ultimate size of 10 or even 15 meters.
(1.2) BS-0485 appears to have longer internodes. The internodes have no stripes and are initially farinose (the farina can be easily wiped off) and not pubescent, as in Bambusa variostriata.
(1.3) The culm-leaf sheath of BS-0485 is essentially glabrous and not with hispid yellow hairs as in Bambusa variostriata.
(1.4) Although the shape and position of the auricles of BS-0485 are quite similar to those of Bambusa variostriata, the auricles of BS-0485 appear smaller and the blade base wider.
(1.5) The ligule of BS-0485 is significantly shorter.
(1.6) The foliage-leaf blades of BS-0485 are significantly shorter and slightly less wide.(2) The differences between BS-0485 and Bambusa variostriata are too numerous; hence, it is doubtful that BS-0485 represents this species. The description of Bambusa truncata (Flora of China [#1303], accessed 24 May 2021), matches more closely with BS-0485.
(3) BS-0485 should not be confused with "Dendrocalamopsis vario striata" hort. (BS-0488), which also arrived from Australia but is a quite different species of Bambusa but as yet undetermined.