Guadua angustifolia

Synonym: Bambusa guadua Bonpl. in Humboldt & Bonpl., Pl. Aequinoct. 1, 1806: 68, pl. 20.

Thai names: ไผ่กวัดัว (phai kwadwa) /ˈpʰàj ˈɡwa.ðwa/. In horticultural publications in Thai, especially on Facebook, the Thai name for Guadua is usually ไผ่เก้าดาว, pronounced (phai gao dao) [RTGS] /ˈpʰàj ˈkâw ˈdaːw/ [IPA], which does not in the least coincide with the Spanish pronunciation of Guadua. Additionally, the Bangkok Forest Herbarium lists a Thai name that does not reflect the Spanish pronunciation either: ไผ่กวาวา (phai kwa wa) (BKF [#1368]).

English names: Guadua Bamboo /ˈɡwa.ðwa bæmˈbuː/; Colombian Giant Bamboo.

Distribution: THAILAND, introduced, in cultivation. — VENEZUELA to PERU, native and wild, also widely cultivated in central and southern America. — Also cultivated in several countries of South-East Asia, e.g., Vietnam and Indonesia.

Culm size: Height 7–25 m, diameter 7–15 cm.

Descriptions:

(1) "Habit: Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 2000-3000 cm long; 100-130 mm diam.; woody; with root thorns from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; thin-walled; 20 cm long. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement three; with 1 branch dominant; thinner than stem. Culm-sheaths pubescent; hairy throughout; with dark brown hairs; without auricles. Culm-sheath blade triangular; erect; pubescent. Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole glabrous. Leaf-blades lanceolate, or oblong; 10-20 cm long; 6-12 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation without cross veins. … [flowers and seeds described]." — KewScience POWO, accessed 10 July 2020 [#1305].

(2) Kew GrassBase [#1335].

Images: Photos in BambooWeb.info [#1340]; BambooCraft.net [#1341].

Characteristics: Rhizomes pachymorph, long-necked, forming loosely spaced culms. Culms erect, upright. Culm-internodes green, thin-walled. Culm-nodes with thorns, with a prominent sheath scar ring and initially with a dense band of appressed, cream-colored hairs below and above the sheath scar. Branches initially 1–3, the central one dominant, several on the upper culm. Culm-leaves deciduous, late deciduous on the lower culm. Culm-leaf sheaths with dark brown hairs. Culm-leaf auricles absent. Culm-leaf blade erect. Foliage-leaf blades medium-sized, 10–21 cm long, 0.5–2.4 cm wide.

Uses: It is the economically most important bamboo in the humid, tropical Americas; the primary source of building material for urban and rural dwellings, especially in Colombia and Ecuador, and the raw material for numerous products.

Cultivation requirements: Easy and fast-growing; in full sun, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist with good drainage, mildly acid 5.5–6.5 pH soils. Temperature: Guadua angustifolia grows best at average temperatures between 17 °C and 26 °C, does not tolerate minimum temperatures below 12 °C, and is slow-growing below 16 °C, but other Guadua species may survive temperatures as low as freezing point (0 °C). Precipitation: best between 1,300 and 2,500 mm per year. Atmospheric humidity: best at (72) 80–90%. For timber production, a less hot location within the species' temperature range is recommended, lowland plantations in the wet tropics might not produce the strongest possible culms.

Comments:

(1) There are variants with thicker culm walls.

(2) Further reading on the Guadua angustifolia complex: Gib Cooper, 2011.

(3) Plants were introduced from the U.S.A. to central Thailand in 2011; seeds were introduced from an unrecorded source to Thailand by นิรมิตย์ สารีรัตน์ ("Niramit Sareerudt") in 2012 (Facebook, 11 June 2015).