Getting%20to%20Know%20the%20Bamboos

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Getting to Know the Bamboos
Paintings bySharma
Dendrocalamus giganteus
Bambusa vulgaris Vittata
Bambusa bambos var. gigantea
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By Gib CooperTradewinds Bamboo Nursery at
BAMBOODIRECT.COM

• INTRODUCTION
• A basic review of the different kinds of bamboo
  from around the world and where they perform in
  the USA. The different bamboo species are placed
  into several groupings for gardeners.

HIMALAYACALAMUS HOOKERIANUS/BLUE BAMBOO
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Getting to Know the Bamboos

• Introduction
• Natural Distribution
• Growing zones
• Taxon..Oh..My!
• Groupings
• Clumping
• Not so clumping and running
• Dwarf bamboo

• Shrub bamboo
• Tall Shrub bamboo
• Timber bamboo
• Cold tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Temperate
• Sub-tropical
• Tropical

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BAMBOO REGIONS OF THE WORLD
The natural distribution of bamboo in the world.
CHUSQUEA LIEBMANNII
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USDA COLD HARDINESS MAP
Warm winters, cooler summers with cooler nightime
temperatures
Warm winters, hot summers with warmer nightime
temperatures
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Heat plays a role, particularly the species with
tropical and mountain origins.
Very Cold Hardy MountainBamboo and Temperate
Runners
Add thisZone for Temperate Runners
Subtropical Clumpers and Tropicals in the
Southern Tips
The Not So Hardy Mountain Bambo
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Basic Grass Parts
Names of bamboo and grass parts are used in
discussing bamboo identity. There are many
descriptive terms used to describe various
features. These botanical terms are usually in
Latin - a dead language.
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Taxon..Oh..My!
Flowers
Shoots
Fargesia murielae var. SABE 939
Dendrocalamus asper
Leaves
Guadua amplexifolia
Culms
Bambusa vulgaris Wamin striata
Sheaths
Guadua angustifolia
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Phyllostachys bambusoides
Flowers
Guadua velutina
Otatea acuminata aztecorum
Sasa palmata
Chimonobambusa macrophylla Intermedia
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Culm Sheaths Shoots
Bambusa oldhamii
Phyllostachys edulis MOSO BAMBOO (formerly P.
heterocycla pubescens)
Dendrocalamus asper
D. Asper sheath hat!
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Culms
Phyllostachys aurea
Guadua aculeata
Gigantochloa atroviolacia
Schizostachyum brachycladum
Dendrocalamus strictus
Bambusa vulgaris Wamin
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Leaves
Phyllostachys flexuosa Kimmei
Guadua angustifolia (cuttings)
Otatea acuminata aztecorum
Rhipidocladum racemiflorum
Olmeca reflexa
Bambusa sp.
Chusquea andina
Chusquea bilimekii
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Phyllostachys aurea flavescens-inversa
Botanical Plant Names
Binomial system - Names consist of genus
beginning in a capital letter followed by the
species name in lower case letters-example
Phyllostachys aurea.
Standard species are those collected in the wild
and brought into cultivation.
Variants consist of individuals from a differing
population found in the wild, variants found in
cultivated populations or hybrids between related
species.
Phyllostachys aurea koi
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The Herbarium
Dr. Lynn Clark collecting bamboo parts.

• The ID of bamboo is determined by taxonomists
  using dried plant parts systematically collected,
  prepared and stored on herbarium sheets. The
  photo (right) shows many of the native bamboo
  sheets the internationally recognized XAL
  Herbarium at the Ecology Institute in Xalapa. The
  Institute and Clavijero Botanical Gardens is the
  home of the National Collection of Mexican
  Bamboo.

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Sample Herbarium Sheet from the Ada Hayden
Herbarium at Iowa State University of Chusquea
riosaltensis collected by Lynn Clark in 1991
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An outline of the distinguishing characteristics
of different bamboo genera. These differences are
used as a guide to taxonomic identification.
Generic Keys
From Bamboo in the United States
From American Bamboos
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Reference Books
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Groupings
Clumpers

• Mountain Bamboo These are bamboo species from
  the higher elevations of the Andes, Central
  America or the Himalayan regions of India and
  China. Many of these species are fairly recent
  introductions and have not been trialed in all
  areas of the USA. All seem to do quite well along
  the West coast. Some do well in the Midwest and
  Middle Atlantic regions to New England. They do
  not like the desert regions, Texas or deep South.
  Consider not ordering these if warm summer nights
  are the norm. They do not mind warm days but need
  cool nights. These are risky to grow if you are
  in the hot climates.

Borinda boliana
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Sino-Himalayan Bamboo
Himalayacalamus porcatus
Fargesia nitida
Himalayacalamus hookerianus
Himalayacalamus falconeri Damarapa
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Latin America Cloud Forest Bamboo
Chusquea sp. (New?)
Chusquea aperta
Chusquea sp. las Vigas
Chusquea bilimekii
Mexican botanists, Gilberto Cortés and Antonio
Velasquez in the Cofre de Perote cloud forest.
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Tropical Clumpers
Groupings
These clumping bamboos are tropical in origin.
Clumping bamboo can form tight thickets of culms
or maintain culms a short distance apart. You
should plant these far enough apart to walk
between the clumps. These are the well behaved
bamboo that stay put when planted. However, one
must account for the eventual size of the mature
clump mass to properly place the larger plants in
the garden.

• Bambusa chungii

Gigantochloa sp. Suwali
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More tropical clumpers
Bambusa malingensis
Gigantochloa atroviolacia
Dendrocalamus membranaceous
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Tropical Timber Bamboo

• Guadua angustifolia

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Not so Clumping Guadua angustifolia
Long necked rhizomes can space the culms of some
clumpers further apart than others.
Guadua angustifolia
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Odd things to confuse

• There are culm oddities that may confuse a person
  in attempting to determine the I.D.of bamboos.

Phy. viridis Robert Young (variant)
Phy. viridis Robert Young (normal)
A rare deformity
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Groupings

• Dwarf Bamboo

Shibatea chinensis
Pleioblastus viridi-striatus
Pleioblastus variegatus/P. fortunii
Sasa veitchii
Peudosasa owatarii
Sasaella hidaensis
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Groupings Shrub Bamboo
Pleioblastus pygmaeus
Hibanobambusa tranquilans Shiroshima
Chimonobambusa marmorea
Indocalamus tessellatus
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Groupings Shrub Bamboo
Pleioblastus gramineus
Sasa palmata
Sasaella masumeana albostriata
Pleioblastus chino murakamianus
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Tall Shrub bamboo
Groupings
Phyllostachys aureosulcata Aureocaulis (2
branches at node is a trait of Phyllostachys
Semiarundinaria fastuosa
Phyllostachys aureosulcata Spectabilis
Phyllostachys nigra
Phyllostachys aurea (topiary style)
Phyllostachys aureosulcata
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Timber bamboo
Groupings
Guadua angustifolia bi-color
Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens / MOSO
Phyllostachys vivax
Phyllostachys bambusoides
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Cold tolerant bamboo
Groupings
Phyllostachys nuda
Bambusa oldhamii
Phyllostachys bissetii
Fargesia murielae
Not-so cold tolerant?
Fargesia robusta
Fargesia nitida
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Heat Loving Bamboo
Groupings

• Not all bamboo can take the summer heat

Bambusa vulgaris Vittata
Otatea acuminata aztecorum
Dendrocalamus strictus
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Temperate runners
Groupings
Phyllostachys bambusoides
Phyllostachys viridis Robert Young
Phyllostachys nigra Henon
Phyllostachys nigra
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Sub-tropical bamboo
Groupings
Bambusa oldhamii
Bambusa ventricosa
Bambusa textilis
Bambusa malingensis
Bambusa multiplex
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Tropical bamboo
Groupings
D. Asper Hitam/Black Asper
Dendrocalamus giganteus
Dendrocalamus asper
Thrysostachys siamensis
Gigantochloa sp.
Guadua aculeata
Bambusa oldhamii
Bambusa vulgaris Vittata
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Guadua angustifolia
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Thank you
Pseudosasa japonica