Phyllostachys bambusoides

Phyllostachys bambusoides Sieb. and Zucc., Abh. Akad. der Phys. Wissensch Munchen 3: 745, tab.5, fig.3, 1843; Gamble, Ann. Roy. Bot. Gard. Calcutta 7: 27, Pl. 27. 1896 and in Hook f., Fl. Brit. India 7: 386. 1897; Camus, Les Bambusees 56. 1913; Kedharnath and Chatterjee, Indian For. 92: 429. 1966; Varmah and Bahadur, Indian For. Rec. (n.s) Bot. 6: 4. 1980; Tewari, Monogr. Bamboo 121., 1992. (Fig. 67).
Phyllostachys reticulata sensu Koch., Dendr. 2(2): 350. 1873.

DESCRIPTION

A caespitose bamboo. Culms graceful, yellow, 2-4 m high, flattened at one side, 1-1.5 cm diameter, rarely attaining 2 cm diameter, glabrous, smooth, polished, green with waxy ring below the nodes, disappears with age, internodes 20-30 cm long. Culm-sheaths variable, yellowish-brown, back conspicuously purplish-brown or black spot and blotches; imperfect blade lanceolate, less than 2 cm long, auricles usually 2, sometimes only one or entirely lacking with bristles; ligule 2-4 mm high, laciniate. Leaves 4-6 at first, later only 2-3 remain, 12-16 cm long and 11-25 mm broad, linear, attenuate at the base into a short petiole, long acuminate, setaceous at the apex; sheath with well developed auricles and long bristles; ligule well developed, 2-3 mm high. Inflorescence consisting of multispiculate lanceolate spikes, 40 x 10-15 mm long, bracts ciliate near the mouth, limb imperfect, foliaceous, large, ovate lanceolate, cordate 35 x 20 mm. Spikelets 20-25 mm, fertile flower 3-5, terminal flower imperfect; flower greenish; glumes 2, lower very large, sheath like, bluntly truncate with a foliaceous green cordate blade, becomes smaller or disappears in the upper flowers, upper short, 7 mm long, oblique, keeled, ciliate on the keels, few-nerved, those of the upper flowers longer and more unequal sided in terminal spikelets, sometimes absent. Lemmas 20 x 7 mm, ovate-acuminate, main nerve strong, secondary nerves 5-6 pairs paleas, about as long, narrow, two-keeled, minutely scabrous, ciliate on the keels, bimucronate at the apex. Lodicules ovate-lanceolate, unequal, emarginate or bifid, ciliate, 3-7-nerved. Stamens exserted; filaments long, 4-4.5 cm; anthers 1 cm long; ovary ovoid, stipitate, glabrous; styles 2.5-3 cm long, stigmas 3, plumose.

P. bambusoides - Internodes

Reported flowering cycle in the species is 120 years. Flowering is reported from Sikkim for the first time in 1968 (Majumdar et al., 1985). Gregarious flowering was observed in 1961 from Soviet sub-tropics.

DISTRIBUTION

The species is a native of China and Japan. Introduced to Assam and Himachal Pradesh. It is cultivated in Darjeeling and Dehra Dun.

CHEMISTRY

Laboratory pulping test using 30-50 per cent sodium xylene sulphonate as pulping agent, gave 41.6 per cent unbleached and 39.5 per cent bleached pulp. The cellulose content of the unbleached pulp was 93.6 per cent and that of bleached 92.5 per cent.

SILVICULTURE

Observations on growth showed that short slender culms originate before flowering at the base of tall culms, emergence of these culms are not seasonal. Soon after flowering, the tall culms and rhizomes die and short slender culms grow from nodes of dead rhizomes. They bear bottle-shaped leaves or no leaves at all and seem to die gradually. The next set of short slender culm start the new generation. They have large leaves and no flower. Gradually the culms grow and attain normal size and shape. Propagation by tissue culture has been attempted from nodes, stem and leaves and root induction was obtained (Zamora, 1994).

USES

Young shoots are edible. In China, the roots are considered as a tonic. The oral administration of the extract of culms has been reported to produce rapid hyperglycemia in rabbits.

Fig. 67. P. bambusoides. A - flowering branch; B - culm-sheath;
C - spikelet; D - flowering glume; E - palea; F - lodicules; G - stamen;
H - pistil.