Plant descriptions ³

Giant bamboo, with a short, thick rhizome and densely tufted stems; stem (culm) erect with arching tip, up to 30(–35) m tall, up to 30 cm in diameter, wall up to 25 mm thick, covered with a white waxy layer when young, becoming whitish to greyish green; internodes 25–55 cm long, lowermost ones shortest; nodes not swollen, lower ones bearing aerial roots. Leaves alternate, simple; stem leaves with sheath up to 50 cm × 50 cm, dark brown hairy, with small auricles, ligule up to 13 mm long and blade up to 38 cm × 9 cm; branch leaves with sheath glabrous outside, auricles small and glabrous, ligule 2–3 mm long, irregularly toothed, blade obliquely oblong, 20–50 cm × 3–10 cm, shortly stalked at base, apex acuminate, glabrous above, slightly rough, with distinct cross veins. Inflorescence a panicle on a leafless branch with clusters of spikelets at the nodes. Spikelets 12–17 mm × 3–8 mm, flattened, comprising 1–3 glumes and 4–6(–8) florets, the uppermost one sometimes sterile; glumes ovate; lemma shortly oblong, 8–13 mm long, palea of lower flowers 2-keeled and hairy at margin, that of upper flowers usually not keeled and glabrous; florets with 6 stamens having long filaments and an ovoid, hairy ovary, style long, terminating in a single feathery purple stigma. Fruit an oblong caryopsis (grain), 6–8 mm long, hairy above.

Elevation ³

Up to 1 200 m.

Similar species ³

Syn. Bambusa gigantea ; Sinocalamus giganteus .

Reference ³

Brink, M., 2008. Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro. In: Louppe, D., Oteng-Amoako, A.A. & Brink, M. (Editors). Prota 7(1): Timbers/Bois d’œuvre 1. [CD-Rom]. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Bahamut Chao, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/bahamutzero/3020808345/
2. no rights reserved, uploaded by Romer Rabarijaona
3. (c) Romer Rabarijaona, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• African Plants - a photo guide
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• World Flora Online

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