Dendrocalamus latiflorus
Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 26 (1), 1868: 152.
Synonyms: Bambusa latiflora (Munro) Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 42 (4), 1874: 250; Sinocalamus latiflorus (Munro) McClure, Lingnan Univ. Sci. Bull. No. 9, 1940: 67.
Thai names: ไผ่ซางคำ (phai sang kham) (Northern); ไผ่เขาควาย (phai khao khwai) (Northern); ไผ่หมาจู๋ (phai ma chu); วาเกร๊อะ (wa-kroe) (Karen: Kanchanaburi); ไผ่หวานอ่างขาง (phai wan ang khang); ไผ่ตงไต้หวันชนิดใหญ่ (phai tong taiwan chanit yai); ไผ่ไต้หวัน (phai taiwan). The Thai name, phai ma chu, seems to be a corruption of Chinese. — T. Smitinand, 2001 [#1003]; BKF [#1368].
Chinese name: 麻竹 (má zhú); "má" means hemp, jute, flax, and "zhú" means bamboo.
English names: Taiwan Giant Bamboo; Taiwanese Giant Bamboo; Sweet Giant Bamboo; Ma Bamboo.
Distribution: THAILAND (North), introduced from Taiwan, in cultivation. — MYANMAR, native. — CHINA (South), native. — Frequently cultivated in tropical Asia. — N. Bystriakova & al., Bamboo Biodiversity, 2003: map 25 [#1342].
Local distribution: Found cultivated in the Chiang Mai area; occasionally offered for sale at Kham Thiang Market, Chiang Mai.
Culm size: Height 14–20 (25) m, diameter 8–20 (30) cm.
Descriptions:
(1) "Habit: Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 150 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; distally glabrous. Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths 25–30 cm long; 1 times as long as wide; brown; hispid; with appressed hairs; with black hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 5 mm high; dentate. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface, or hirsute; outer margin hairy. Ligule an eciliate membrane; obtuse, or acute. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades oblong; 18–25 cm long; 30–75 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib conspicuous. Leaf-blade venation with 12–18 secondary veins; with distinct cross veins. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; rough adaxially; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase, accessed 13 Aug. 2020 [#1335].
(2) "Culms 20–25 m, 15–30 cm in diam.; internodes 45–60 cm; wall 1–3 cm thick. Branches several, central branch dominant. Culm sheaths deciduous, thickly leathery; auricles small; ligule 1–3 mm, serrulate; blade reflexed, ovate to lanceolate. Leaf sheaths initially slightly hairy, becoming glabrous; ligule 1–2 mm, serrulate; blade oblong-lanceolate, 15–35(–50) × 2.5–7 cm. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Flora of China, accessed 13 Aug. 2020 [#1303].
(3) C. A. Roxas in S. Dransfield & E. A. Widjaja (eds.), Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 7, Bamboos, 1995: p. 87-90, fig. [#1226].
(4) Flora of Taiwan [#1106].
Images: Line drawing Flora of Taiwan [#1106]. Photos Bambooweb.info [#1340]; AsianFlora [#1332]. Post and photos of the flowering of ไผ่หม่าจู (phai ma chu), Dendrocalamus latiflorus, Thailand, by สวนไผ่นานาพันธุ์ สวน (suan phai nana phan suan) in facebook, 27 Jan. 2014.
Uses: Shoots for food, a major species for commercial shoot production in Thailand; yield in China 20–30 tonnes annually per hectare (W. Y. Hsiung), yield in Thailand 12.5–18.8 t/ha (Royal Project, pers. comm.). Culms for construction and paper pulp; plants for landscaping.
Cultivation requirements: Easy and fast-growing; in part shade to full sun, grows in 4.5–7.5 pH soils, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist with good drainage. Tolerates heat and humidity, some drought and air pollution, wind, and seashore exposition. The optimal clump spacing for shoot production plantations is 5 × 5 m.
Flowering cycle: Unknown. "Flowering is rare in Taiwan; sporadic flowering and fruiting is a normal occurrence in the Philippines, Indonesia and China" [#1226].
Seed viability: Five months under normal atmospheric conditions; one year in storage at 1–6 °C.
Comments:
(1) Photos of flowers and additional information: Bamboo seeds @YunnanBambooCo on Facebook, 1 Dec. 2019.
(2) Three varieties of Dendrocalamus latiflorus were recorded from China: Dendrocalamus latiflorus var. magnus, with culms unbranched up to 9 m from the ground, and not arching, from Fujian, mainland China; 'Mei-Nung', with culms and branches yellowish green with green stripes, and culm sheaths yellowish green to brownish green with yellow stripes, from Taiwan; 'Subconvex', with culms smaller in ultimate size, and internodes basally congested and pear-shaped, from Taiwan.
(3) The seed-containing spikelets of the Chinese specimens (listed below) look slightly different than the Thai specimens (listed below), but the seed morphology shows that both are species of Dendrocalamus. This raises the question of whether they are two different species, and if so, which of the specimens, those from China or Thailand, represent the true species, Dendrocalamus latiflorus. This problem in species identification could not be solved because the seedlings raised from those seeds are no longer available at Bambusetum Baan Sammi, or have not yet reached adult height at Boonthammee Bamboo Garden.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0170): Young shoot (left), young culm (center), apex of a young culm-leaf, showing a reflexed blade, a low serrulate ligule and tiny bristly auricles (right)
Specimen: BS-0170 [W2] (living plants), Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, cult., received 2007.
Characteristics: Rhizomes pachymorph, short-necked, forming a clump. Culms erect. Young shoots bluish green, glabrous, culm-leaf blades reflexed; emerge from the end of June to September. Culm-internodes 30–50 cm long, medium green and covered with white powder when young, surface orange-yellow when old, glabrous. Culm-nodes not prominent, nodes of the lower culm with a whorl of short roots. Branch-buds solitary, large and broad. Branches several, with the central one dominant. Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheaths light green, covered with dark hairs on the lower part when young, pale brownish, and the hairs caducous when dry. Culm-leaf auricles and oral setae none. Culm-leaf ligule short. Culm-leaf blade reflexed, small. Foliage-leaf sheaths yellowish-green, sparsely covered with brown hairs when young, glabrous and straw-colored when dry. Foliage-leaf auricles and oral setae none. Foliage-leaf ligule short, entire. Foliage-leaf blades medium green, glabrous on both surfaces, large, usually 40 cm long and 9 cm wide, some up to 52 cm long and 12 cm wide.
Specimen: BS-0153 [-] (living plants), raised from seeds, collected by ธ. บ. as "Dendrocalamus latiflorus, ไผ่หวานอ่างขาง (phai wan ang khang)" from cultivated flowering plants in Nan Province, northern Thailand, without precise locality, in early May 2014, received 11 May 2014.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 100–120 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: (1) Test 140512: 3 of 10 seeds germinated. — (2) pH tolerability test (Jul.-Sep. 2014): Seedlings do not tolerate a high alkaline growth medium.
Comments: There is a slight difference in the seed or spikelet morphology between the Chinese and Thai specimens, so it is uncertain whether they represent a single species.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0153): Seeds, most of them wrapped in their husks (left), seeds, husks removed (right)
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0153): Seeds, husks removed
Specimen: BS-0695 [BBG] (living plant), seeds in very low quantity collected as "ไผ่หมาจู๋" (phai ma chu), "Dendrocalamus latiflorus", by ธ. ล. from cultivated flowering plants at Fang District, Chiang Mai Province, in Feb. 2012, received 24 Feb. 2012; seedlings raised.
Characteristics: Culm height about 15 m, diameter 8 cm. — acc. ธ. ล.
Cultivation requirements: Grows well in full sun or part shade, soil normal moisture-retentive with good drainage.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 85–100 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: Seeds were laid on moistened tissue paper, on 26 Feb. 2012, 29–32 °C day temperature, diffuse light, 14–23 °C night temperature, atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 7 days, germination rate high (>60%). The seedlings developed exceptionally well from the very beginning (17 Mar. 2012).
Comments: There is a slight difference in the seed or spikelet morphology between the Chinese and Thai specimens, so it is uncertain whether they represent a single species.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0695): Seeds (left), seed with husks removed (right)
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0695): 2 months old seedling (left), germinating seed on tissue paper after 21 days (right)
Specimens: BS-0640 [BBG], BS-0640-2 [-] (living plants), cult., raised from seeds, the seeds from FMXG, Yunnan, China, as "麻竹 (má zhú), Dendrocalamus latiflorus", collected 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, received 25 Apr. 2011 and 14 Jan. 2014 respectively.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 290–360 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: Seeds (BS-0640) were placed in moistened coir dust at 100%, in April 2011, atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 10 days, germination rate was low (<40%).
Comments: There is a slight difference in the seed or spikelet morphology between the Chinese and Thai specimens, so it is uncertain whether they represent a single species.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0640): Seeds
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0640): Germinating seeds
Specimen: BS-0822 [-] (living plants), raised from seeds, the seeds from FMXG, Yunnan, China, as "麻竹 (má zhú), Dendrocalamus latiflorus", coll. Mar. 2015, received in May and July 2015.
Seed weight: Not recorded.
Seed germination: None of the seeds germinated.
Comments: There is a slight difference in the seed or spikelet morphology between the Chinese and Thai specimens, so it is uncertain whether they represent a single species.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BS-0822): Seeds
Specimen: BT1006 [BBG] (living plants), raised from seeds, the seeds from YNB, Yunnan, China, as "Dendrocalamus latiflorus, 麻竹 (má zhú)", collected Dec. 2016, received by Boonthammee Bamboo Garden, Hang Dong, Chiang Mai, Mar. 2017.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 290–360 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: Germination rate very low, <10% (test 170313).
Comments: There is a slight difference in the seed or spikelet morphology between the Chinese and Thai specimens, so it is uncertain whether they represent a single species.
Dendrocalamus latiflorus (BT1006): Seeds — by courtesy of คุณธรรมรัตน์ บุญธรรมมี Thammarat Boonthammee, สวนไผ่บุญธรรมมี Boonthammee Bamboo Garden
Dendrocalamus latiflorus 'Mei-Nung'
Thai name: Not recorded. Chinese name: 美浓麻竹 (měi nóng má zhú).
English name: Mei-Nung Bamboo.
Distribution: THAILAND, introduced from Taiwan to Prachin Buri by C. S. in the 2010s, in cultivation, rare. — CHINA: Taiwan, Yunnan, Guizhou. — Frequently cultivated in the USA and AUSTRALIA.
Culm size: Height up to 24 m, diameter to 20 cm.
Description: Culm-internodes light to yellowish green with stripes in darker green. Foliage-leaf blades with occasional yellow stripes.
Images: Photo in BambooLand (culms).
Uses: Plants as garden ornamentals and for landscaping; shoots palatable.