Chimonobambusa gaolinensis

Chimonobambusa gaolinensis H. Gao

    • Thai name: No known records.

    • Chinese name: 高氏方竹 (gāo shì fāng zhú).

    • Distribution: THAILAND (North): Introduced, but there is no known record of whether this species has been successfully kept in cultivation in Thailand. — CHINA (South): southeastern Yunnan, in broad-leaved forests and on forest edges, at 1,000–2,000 m altitude.

    • Description: "Culms 2-5 m tall, 0.7-2 cm DBH [diameter at breast height]. Internodes 10-22 cm long, with sub-solid culms. Sheaths caducous, with purple-black dorsal surfaces and the sheath blades subulate, 3-4 cm long. Leaves 2 to 3 emerge at the ending branchlets, with the leaf blades small-sized, 7-15 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm wide. … [flowers and seeds described]." — B. Lan [兰冰 (lán bīng)], Compendium of Bamboo Fruits and Seedlings, Kunming, 2010: p. 63 [#1179].

    • Uses: Shoots for food, palatable; culms for supporting frames and farm tools; plants used as garden ornamentals and for landscaping.

    • Cultivation requirements: Not recorded; established plants can resist temperatures as low as –22 °C. — acc. FMXG.

    • Comments: A valid publication of the name, Chimonobambusa gaolinensis H. Gao, is not known. The name was published in B. Lan, l.c., 2010: p. 4, 63 [#1179].

    • Specimen: BS-0682 [SSG] (living plants), raised from seeds, introduced from FMXG, Yunnan, China, as "Chimonobambusa gaolinensis, 高氏方竹 (gāo shì fāng zhú)"; collected 2010, not received; collected early June 2011, and received 21 June 2011.

    • Seed viability: 15 days under normal atmospheric conditions; 45 days under storage at 1–6 °C. — acc. FMXG.

    • Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 100–150 humid husk-wrapped seeds.

    • Seed germination: The germination rate is rather low.

    • Comments: The seedlings were distributed in northern Thailand, but the current locations of the cultivated plants are unknown.

Chimonobambusa gaolinensis (BS-0682): Young seedling (left), seeds, humid, with their husks (right)