BAMBUSA DURIUSCULA

Description

From Bamboos of Thailand, Native and Introduced Species (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) — An Annotated Compilation, by D. Ohrnberger (Khun Dieter – คุณดีเท่อร์)

Bambusa duriuscula W. T. Lin, Bull. Bot. Lab. N.-E. For­est. Inst., Harbin. 1980(6): 87. 1980.

Culms suberect, 6–7 m, 3–4 cm in diam.; internodes straight, 38–55 cm, sparsely stiffly dull brown hairy, initially partly white powdery below sheath scar but powder not in rings; wall slightly thin; nodes flat, glabrous; branching from 5th or 6th node up. 

Branches many, clustered, horizontal, central slightly dominant. Culm sheaths deciduous, glossy, abaxially and near margins ± stiffly dull brown hairy, apex subtruncate; auricles subequal, narrowly oblong, ca. 1.5 × 0.6–0.7 cm; oral setae undulate; ligule ca. 1 mm, erose, very shortly ciliolate; blade deciduous, erect, ovate-triangular, nearly as long as or slightly shorter than sheath, base ca. 2/3 width of sheath apex. Leaf blade linear, 9–14 × 0.8–1.2 cm, abaxially subglabrous, adaxially pubescent near base. Pseudospikelets 2 or 3 clustered on each node of flowering branches, linear-lanceolate, 2–3 cm; gemmiferous bracts 2 or 3, ovate, ca. 5 mm, 13-veined, base cordate, apex acute; florets 6 or 7, apical one sterile; rachilla segments flat, 2–4 mm, subglabrous. Glumes absent; lemma oblong, ca. 1.2 cm, slightly asymmetrical, 21-veined, apex acute; palea narrow, longer than or about as long as lemma, keels sparsely ciliolate near apex, 5-veined between and 3-veined on either side of keels; lodicules 3, unequal, anterior 2 oblique, ca. 2 mm, margins long ciliate, posterior narrowly obovate, ca. 1.5 mm. Anthers ca. 5 mm, apex retuse. Ovary subglobose, ca. 1 mm in diam., stalked, apex hispidulous; style hairy, ca. 1.5 mm; stigmas 3, ca. 5 mm. Mature caryopsis unknown. New shoots May–Oct.

* Usually cultivated, slopes near villages. Hainan.

Bambusa duriuscula is similar to B. pachinensis, but has shorter internodes, the culm sheath with hairs only near the base and margins, the apex subtruncate, the blade nearly as long as the sheath proper, and the leaf blade narrower and abaxially glabrous. The paratype W. T. Lin 31826 should be excluded from this species.

Giant Thorny Bamboo, Durian Bamboo, Duriuscula Bamboo, Giant Bamboo, Duriuscula Giant Bamboo

Bambusa breviligulata L. C. Chia & H. L. Fung.

Origin

Hainan, China

 THAILAND, Plants were introduced from Hainan in 2013, which are considered to represent this species; in cultivation, rare. — CHINA (South): Hainan, in cultivation.

Uses

Hedges and screening.

Bambusa duriuscula is used as an ornamental plant in gardens and landscapes. It is also used for its medicinal properties, such as treating fever, headaches, and skin diseases. It is also used as a windbreak and for soil stabilization.

Cultivation

Bambusa duriuscula is a tropical clumping bamboo that grows in full sun to partial shade. It is a fast-growing species and can reach heights of up to 20 feet. It is best propagated by division of the rhizomes, and can be grown in containers or in the ground.

References

Bibliography of Bamboos of Thailand

Flora of China

Other