Gigantochloa robusta

Gigantochloa robusta Kurz, Indian Forester 1, 1876: 60.

    • Misapplied name: Gigantochloa verticillata (Willd.) Munro, sensu Backer.

    • Thai name: Not recorded. Indonesian name: bambu mayan (West Java: Banten). Balinese name: tiying jelepung.

    • Distribution: THAILAND: Krabi Province and elsewhere, in cultivation. — INDONESIA: Sumatra, Java, and Bali, native.

    • Descriptions:

    • (1) "… caespitose; clumped densely. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 1500–2000 cm long; 70–90 mm diam.; woody; with aerial roots from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 30–40 cm long; light green and yellow; striped; distally pubescent. Lateral branches dendroid. Culm-sheaths deciduous; 17–35 cm long; hispid; with dark brown hairs; truncate at apex; auriculate; with 7 mm high auricles; ciliate on shoulders; shoulders with 5 mm long hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 5 mm high; fimbriate. Culm-sheath blade triangular; reflexed; 10–14 cm long; 35–50 mm wide. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 5 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; 1 mm long. Ligule a ciliate membrane; 1 mm long. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.4 cm long. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 15–27 cm long; 25–50 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pubescent; hairy abaxially … [flowers and seeds described]." — Kew GrassBase [#1335].

    • (2) E. A. Widjaja in S. Dransfield & E. A. Widjaja (eds.), Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 7, Bamboos, 1995: p. 118-120, fig. [#1226].

    • (3) E. A. Widjaja, Revis. Malesian Gigantochloa, 1987: p. 311-316, fig. 3-5 [#1224].

    • (4) E. A. Widjaja, Spect. Indones. Bamboos, 2019: p. 94-97 [#1279].

    • Images: Photo "Gigantochloa robusta Kurz in Bengkulu-Indonesia" by Zetro Devangky Silaban on Facebook, 8 Feb. 2014 (flowering branch); E. A. Widjaja, l.c., 2019 (habit, culms, culm-leaves, young shoot) [#1279].

    • Uses: Culms for vessels, musical instruments, as a building material for floors and walls, and ply bamboo (bamboo plywood).

    • Specimen: BS-0109 [†] (living plants), received by ธ. ล. from Indonesia in 2013.

    • Comments:

    • (1) Plants of this species are said to be found quite often in cultivation in Thailand.

    • (2) Two cultivated varieties grown in northern Thailand are referred to as this species and named 'Golden Robusta' and 'Silver Robusta', the former with yellow striped stems, the latter with whitish striped stems.