Description
From Bamboos of Thailand, Native and Introduced Species (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) — An Annotated Compilation, by D. Ohrnberger (Khun Dieter – คุณดีเท่อร์)
"A medium sized graceful bamboo. Culms 6-15 m high, 5-10 cm in diameter, loosely clumped, much-branched above, usually unbranched below, straight, green, smooth, not shining, white-ringed below the nodes; node slightly thickened, often hairy, lower ones bearing rootlets; internodes usually 25-45 cm long, thick-walled. Culm-sheaths 10-23 cm long, upto 30 cm wide at base, with appressed scattered black hairs on the back, base with soft deciduous hairs, top truncate; ligule ca.2 mm, entire to dentate; auricles 2, at the top of the sheath, large, wavy, unequal in size, one erect and the other decurrent, both fringed, with long curved bristles; base rounded, margin recurved, adaxial surface clothed with appressed brownish black hairs. Young shoots yellowish-green at apex. Sheaths covered sparsely with dark-brown and yellow hairs. Leaves 15-25 cm long and 2-3.5 cm broad, linear-lanceolate, acuminate at apex, rounded and usually oblique at base, upper surface dull green, lower surface glaucous; petiole 3-5 mm long; leaf-sheaths hairy when young, striate; auricle falcate with few long hairs. …" — K. K. Seethalakshmi & al., Bamboos of India, 1998: p. 62 [#1062].
Characteristics: Bambusa tulda vs. Bambusa nutans: "B. tulda has shorter, slightly crooked culms with much thicker walls and faint to obscure yellow stripes towards the base. … the leaves of B. tulda are distinguishable by the much larger leaf sheath auricles with widely spreading setae. In addition the smaller of the two culm sheath auricles is generally narrower and taller than that of B. nutans, and there are fewer hairs inside the culm sheath blade." — C. M. A. Stapleton, Bamboos Nepal Bhutan I, 1994: p. 8.
Origin
THAILAND (Central, North), wild and cultivated. — BHUTAN. — NEPAL. — INDIA (North, North-East). — BANGLADESH.
Uses
Shoots for food, culms for construction.
Cultivation
Easy growing in heavy, water-retentive soil with good drainage, exposed to full sun.
References
Common Names
- Thai
- ไผ่บง (phai bong)
- ไผ่บงบ้าน (phai bong ban)
- ไผ่บงคาย (phai bong khai)
- ไผ่บงเล็ก (phai bong lek)