Otatea fimbriata

Otatea fimbriata Soderstr. in McVaugh, Fl. Novo-Galiciana 14, 1983: 280.

    • Thai name: ไผ่รวกฝรั่ง (phai ruak farang).

    • Distribution: THAILAND, introduced before 2008, in cultivation at the Royal Project, Doi Ang Khang, Chiang Mai Province (S. Sungkaew & al., 2008). — MEXICO: Chiapas. — HONDURAS. — EL SALVADOR. — COLOMBIA (North). — On calcareous soils, on slopes, and near rivers in tropical dry and oak forests at 1,000–1,300 m altitude.

    • Culm size: Height 2.5–6 (8) m, diameter 1–4 (6) cm.

    • Description: E. Ruiz Sánchez & al., 2009: 143 [#1163a].

    • Images: Photos in BambooWeb.info [#1340]; T.J. Meredith, Timber Press pocket guide to bamboos, 2009: 104 (culm sheath, branches).

    • Characteristics: Rhizome pachymorph, neck 20-30 cm long. Culm-internodes hollow, very thick-walled. Foliage-leaf blades long and narrow.

    • Uses: Plants as garden ornamentals.

    • Cultivation requirements: In part shade to full sun, soil 6.5–8 pH, sandy loam to clay loam, normal moisture-retentive to moist with good drainage. Tolerates heat and humidity, and some drought.

    • Comments:

    • (1) Flowers known.

    • (2) Otatea fimbriata "is recognized by three diagnostic characters: nodal line dipping slightly below the buds, brown foliar oral setae, and a patch of brown of cilia on the abaxial foliar surface" (E. Ruiz Sánchez, 2009: 79).