Bambusa oldhamii

giant timber bamboo
Bambusa oldhamii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Bambusa
Species: B. oldhamii
Binomial name
Bambusa oldhamii
Munro
Synonyms[1]
  • Arundarbor oldhamii (Munro) Kuntze
  • Leleba oldhamii (Munro) Nakai
  • Sinocalamus oldhamii (Munro) McClure
  • Dendrocalamopsis oldhamii (Munro) Keng f.
  • Bambusa atrovirens T.H.Wen
  • Dendrocalamopsis atrovirens (T.H.Wen) Keng f. ex W.T.Lin
  • Neosinocalamus revolutus (W.T.Lin & J.Y.Lin) T.H.Wen
  • Bambusa revoluta (W.T.Lin & J.Y.Lin) N.H.Xia, R.H.Wang & R.S.Lin
the specimen at kerala forest research institute, veluppadam, kerala, india

Bambusa oldhamii, known as giant timber bamboo or Oldham's bamboo, is a large species of bamboo. It is the most common and widely grown in the United States and has been introduced into cultivation around the world. It is densely foliated, growing up to 20 m (65 feet) tall in good conditions and can have a diameter of up to 10 cm (4 inches).

Description

Bambusa oldhamii grows to 17–20 metres (65 feet) in height, with green culms reaching a maximum of 10 cm (4 in) in diameter.[2] Shoots grow rapidly in warmer months. The branches are short and leaves long.[3]

Taxonomy

It was first described by Munro in 1868, the type specimen collected in Taiwan by Oldham (after whom the species was named). It is grouped in the subgenus Dendrocalamopsis. Dendrocalamus latiflorus is a misapplied name, under which it has been sold in the United States. It has also been confused with the related species B. atrovirens of Zhejiang in mainland China. Common names include Oldham Bamboo, Giant Timber bamboo, and Ryoku-chiku in Japan.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Bambusa oldhamii is native to the island of Taiwan and to southern China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Zhejiang). It has is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in several places (Ryukyu Islands, New Zealand, Chiapas, Honduras, Peru, etc.)[1][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Cultivation

It has been introduced into cultivation around the world; it is grown under glass in Germany,[2] and in Puerto Rico, Florida and California in the US, where it is the most common clumping bamboo grown, as well as Australia.[2] The young shoots are consumed in Taiwan. The culms are used for furniture making but are not suited to construction.[3] The maximum height in cultivation varies with the temperature, ranging from 20 m (65 feet) in tropical areas, to 17 m (55 feet) in the United States, and shorter the further from the equator it is grown. It tolerates temperatures down to -7 °C (20 °F).[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=398934
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ohrnberger, Dieter (1999). The Bamboos of the World. Amsterdam: Elsevier. pp. 271–72. ISBN 0-444-50020-0.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Meredith, Ted (2001). Bamboo for gardens. Timber Press. pp. 251–52. ISBN 0-88192-507-1.
  4. ↑ Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 36, 绿竹 lü zhu, Bambusa oldhamii Munro, Trans. Linn. Soc. London. 26: 109. 1868
  5. ↑ Walker, E.H. (1976). Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu islands: 1-1159. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
  6. ↑ Brako, L. & Zarucchi, J.L. (1993). Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 45: i-xl, 1-1286.
  7. ↑ Jørgensen, P.M. & León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999). Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75: i-viii, 1-1181.
  8. ↑ Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  9. ↑ Edgar, E & Connor, H.E. (2010). Flora of New Zealand , ed. 2, 5: 1-650. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
  10. ↑ Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.