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— BAMBOOS OF THAILAND — ONLINE VERSION OF 1 JANUARY 2021 — LATEST UPDATE OF 21 SEPTEMBER 2025 —
Dendrocalamus yunnanicus Hsueh & D. Z. Li, J. Bamboo Res. 7 (3), 1988: 11, 17; J. Bamboo Res. 7 (4), 1988: 17.
Synonym: Sinocalamus yunnanicus (Hsueh & D. Z. Li) W. T. Lin, Bamboo Res. No. 42, 1990: 7.
Thai name: ไผ่มังกรยูนนาน (phai mang gon yunnan).
Chinese name: 云南龙竹 (yún nán lóng zhú).
English name: Yunnan Dragon Bamboo.
Distribution: THAILAND: introduced, in cultivation, rare. — CHINA (South): South-eastern Yunnan; at 80–750 m altitude. — VIETNAM.
Culms of Dendrocalamus yunnanicus from Yunnan, China — by courtesy of Lihua Jiang, Yunnan Bamboo, China
Descriptions:
(1) "Culms 18–25 m, 11–18 cm in diam.; internodes 42–52 cm; wall 1–2 cm thick. Branches several. Culm sheaths deciduous, leathery to thickly so, depressed, apex narrow; auricles small; ligule 5–8 mm, serrulate; blade reflexed, 9–18 × 3–9 cm, adaxially brown hairy. Leaf sheaths white hairy; ligule 1.5–2 mm; blade 25–35 × 4.5–6.5 cm, abaxially glabrous. … [flowers described]. Fruit unknown." — Flora of China [#1303].
(2) "… caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; pendulous at the tip; 1800–2500 cm long; 110–180 mm diam.; woody; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 42–52 cm long. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement many. Culm-sheaths deciduous; 34–38 cm long; coriaceous; hispid; with tawny hairs; without auricles; glabrous on shoulders, or ciliate on shoulders. Culm-sheath ligule 5–8 mm high; dentate. Culm-sheath blade ovate; reflexed; 9–18 cm long; 30–90 mm wide; hispid; acuminate. Leaves 7–10 per branch. Leaf-sheaths pilose. Leaf-sheath auricles absent. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1.5–2 mm long. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades oblong; 25–35 cm long; 45–65 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 18–22 secondary veins. Leaf-blade apex acuminate. … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].
Images: Photos in AsianFlora 1 (habit, branches, culm sheath), 2 (culms) [#1332]; BambooWeb.info [partly]; ABS-SoCal (culms).
Uses: Shoots for food; culms for construction, water pipes, and rafts.
Cultivation requirements: Grows in part shade to full sun, in 6.1–7.5 pH soils, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist with good drainage.
Specimens: BS-0653 [BBG, SSG] (living plants), raised from seeds, the seeds from FMXG, Yunnan, China, as "Dendrocalamus yunnanensis, 云南龙竹 (yún nán lóng zhú)", received 19 May 2011; BS-0653-1 [-] (living plants) raised from seeds, same source, received 14 Jan. 2014; seeds collected 2010, Apr. 2011 (BS-0653), Feb. 2012, Nov. 2012, Jan. 2014 (BS-0653-1), Mar. 2015 (BS-0820), Feb. 2016 (BS-0857, BS-0879).
Characteristics (BS-0653): Culm-internodes green, covered with short stiff white hairs when young, greenish-brown and rough when old, thick-walled. Young shoots dark green, emerge from July. Culm-nodes not prominent, without basal aerial root primordia. Branches several, the central one dominant. Culm-leaves deciduous. Culm-leaf sheath longer than half the internode, covered with stiff dark brown hairs; margin (outer) dark brown long-ciliate; apex narrow, truncate. Culm-leaf auricles none. Culm-leaf ligule ca. 5 (10) mm long, long-dentate to lacerate. Culm-leaf blade reflexed, short, late caducous. Foliage-leaves 9 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths green, with short white stiff hairs. Foliage-leaf auricles none. Foliage-leaf ligule brownish, 2–5 mm long, long-dentate to lacerate. Foliage-leaf blades large, 25–32 × 6–8 cm, glabrous above, slightly pubescent beneath; base rounded to attenuate; apex attenuate; midrib somewhat prominent; pseudopetiole 2–5 mm long, glabrous.
Seed viability: Three months under normal atmospheric conditions; a little over one year under storage at 1–6 °C. — acc. FMXG.
Seed weight: 10 g ≈ 210–320 dried spikelets (husk-wrapped seeds).
Seed germination: Seeds (BS-0653) placed in moistened coir dust at 100%, in May 2011, atmospheric humidity >70%, coleoptiles emerged after 7 days, germination rate moderate (40–60%).
Comments: The characteristics of this specimen are substantially consistent with the descriptions.
Dendrocalamus yunnanicus (BS-0653): Seeds, collected April 2011 (left), young seedlings on coir dust, June 2011 (right)
Dendrocalamus yunnanicus (BS-0653): Seeds germinated after 15 months cool storage, sown 7 July 2012, sprouts emerged after 13 days on 20 July 2012
Specimen: BS-0520 [BBG] (living plants), received from cultivated stock as "Dendrocalamus yunnanicus" from Hawaii, USA, in 2010.
Thai name: ไผ่ลายหยก (phai lai yok), translates as Jade Stripe Bamboo.
Characteristics: Culm-internodes light green with yellowish streaks and covered with short white hairs when young, orange-green and rough when old. Young shoots light green, cone-shaped, emerge from August/September. Culm-nodes not prominent, with aerial root primordia on the lower nodes. Branches initially 3, the central one dominant. Culm-leaves shorter than the internode. Culm-leaf sheath light green with yellowish streaks and covered with appressed brown hairs when young, darkening with maturity, straw-colored with dark brown hairs when dry; margin (outer margin) ciliate; apex truncate. Culm-leaf auricles large, elliptic and raised, glabrous, orange when young, dark brown with maturity, with several long white erect bristles. Culm-leaf ligule [n.v.]. Culm-leaf blade long-lanceolate, deflexed. Foliage-leaves ca. 9–13 per branchlet. Foliage-leaf sheaths light green, scattered with brown hairs. Foliage-leaf auricles conspicuous, glabrous, orange or reddish when young, with a few white bristles. Foliage-leaf ligule [n.v.]. Foliage-leaf blades large; base rounded to attenuate; midrib prominent; pseudopetiole ca. 3 mm long, adaxially hairy.
Comments: The characteristics of this specimen do not match the descriptions; hence, the specimen likely represents a different species. The presence of auricles, which are conspicuous, does rule out the identification as Dendrocalamus yunnanicus. The overall characteristics let one assume that the plant belongs to a species of the genus Gigantochloa or Bambusa.
Jade Stripe Bamboo, ไผ่ลายหยก — BS-0520: Striped young culm, with auriculated culm-sheath — by courtesy of คุณธรรมรัตน์ บุญธรรมมี Thammarat Boonthammee, สวนไผ่บุญธรรมมี Boonthammee Bamboo Garden
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