Dendrocalamus dianxiensis
Dendrocalamus dianxiensis L. Gao
Thai name: No known records.
Chinese name: 滇西龙竹 (diān xi lóng zhú), 滇西, diān xi = West Yunnan.
Distribution: THAILAND (North): introduced, in cultivation, rare. — CHINA (South): southwestern Yunnan, introduced to some other provinces of China.
Description: "Culms erect, 18-28 m tall, 10-18 cm DBH [diameter at breast height], with the tops drooping. Internodes 45-75 cm long, covered with brown or brown-red down when young, with the culm walls 1.5-3 cm thick and the internodes at the culm base zigzagged. Branching habit high, at 3-6 m, with numerous branches and the dominant branches developed. Sheaths caducous, red-brown or yellow, with brown bristles on the dorsal surfaces, and the sheath blades curving outwards. Leaves large-sized, 30-45 cm long, 3-6 cm wide. … [flowers and seeds described]." — B. Lan [兰冰 (lán bīng)], Compendium of Bamboo Fruits and Seedlings, Kunming, 2010: p. 46 [#1179].
Uses: Shoots palatable; culms for construction, paper pulp, plywood, chopsticks.
Cultivation requirements: No special requirements. Frost resistant to –4 °C.
Comments:
(1) A valid publication of the name, Dendrocalamus dianxiensis L. Gao, is not known. This name was published in B. Lan, l.c., 2010: p. 4, 46 [#1179].
(2) The name, Dendrocalamus dianxiensis, appears in two articles on plant pathology from the Western Himalayas published by authors from India in 2014 and 2016.
Dendrocalamus dianxiensis: Culms (left) — photo by courtesy of Lihua Jiang, Yunnan Bamboo, China.
Dendrocalamus dianxiensis (BS-0615): Seeds (right)
Specimen: BS-0615 [BBG, SSG] (living plant), raised from seeds, the seeds (collected 2010, Mar. 2011, Feb. 2012) from FMXG, Yunnan, China, received as "Dendrocalamus dianxiensis, 滇西龙竹 (diān xi lóng zhú)", in Dec. 2010.
Characteristics: Culms erect. Young shoots green, emerge from July to September. Culm-internodes dark green, with short white hairs and farinose when young, light brownish and smooth when old, moderately thick-walled. Culm-nodes glabrous, not or slightly prominent, basal nodes without aerial root primordia. Branches several, the central one dominant, unbranched on the basal culm. Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheaths little longer than half of the internode, greenish-orange to reddish, initially sparsely covered with short white hairs, soon becoming almost glabrous, dark straw-colored when dry; margins pale to brown ciliate; apex narrow, truncate. Culm-leaf auricles none. Culm-leaf ligule 2–4 mm long, dark brown, dentate, long pale ciliate. Culm-leaf blade reflexed, early caducous. Foliage-leaves ca. 9 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths with short white stiff hairs, margins ciliate. Foliage-leaf auricles none. Foliage-leaf ligule 2–4 mm long, ciliate. Foliage-leaf blades large, 30–35 × 6.5–8 cm, glabrous above, slightly pubescent beneath; margins antrorsely scabrous; base rounded; apex attenuate; midrib prominent; pseudopetiole 5–10 mm long, glabrous.
Seed viability: Six months under normal atmospheric conditions; one year in storage at 1–6 °C.
Seed weight: 1,000 seeds ≈ 26–32 g (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: Seeds were placed in moistened coir at 100%, in December 2011, 22–25 °C day temperature, diffuse light, 12–14 °C night temperature, with atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 12 days, germination rate low (<40%).
Dendrocalamus dianxiensis (BS-0615): Seeds
Dendrocalamus dianxiensis (BS-0615): Young seedling