A hand identifying? (Bambusa sp) Orlando FL

[pressurewave]

Got a 200 lb rootball of bamboo from a friend today. The person who sold him the original clump said it was called "Green Bamboo"... of course, that is incredibly helpful - as we can clearly see, it is, infact, green. Somehow, though, I doubt the specific species is just called "Green Bamboo".

A few species facts:

it's a clumper (saw the 7 year old stalks, and they had not ventured beyond about a 10 foot area). The mature culms are about 6-8" across (maybe slightly bigger, I haven't measured it yet with a ruler and you know how men are with inches). The mature culms were about 30 feet tall (again, didn't measure).

Could it be Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens... don't think it's "Giant Timber bamboo" (Bambusa oldhamii) - the walls are thicker in that, if I'm not mistaken...

The walls didn't look particularly thick when I cut a piece. Here are some pics of the plant as it sits in my yard now, and the culm parts that were sliced off.

http://pics.livejournal.com/nymphie/pic/0010qrg6
http://pics.livejournal.com/nymphie/pic/0010r9qt
http://pics.livejournal.com/nymphie/pic/0010sz1r

I appreciate any help you can provide identifying this species!

[Mark Meckes]

Good friend! - Healthy division! - Nice placement!
I can say with 99.999% asurety that it is a Bambusa... now which species?

Did the parent plant have bigger leaves then as shown, typical of Bambusa oldhamii? and Bambusa beecheyana

I would have guessed it may possibly be Bambusa tuldoides` Ventricosa' (?), (plant has very arching culms), but no way does this species have culms 6-8 inches across in diameter.
Can you get your friend to measure largest culm diameter?

Mark

[pressurewave]

ahh, you're right actually - I looked at the culms again and it looked more like 3-4.5, the largest being just under 5.

The leaves were not particularily thick (less than an inch wide). The segments didn't really seem to have any particular color at the joints... the main striking thing about the plant was the culms did arc as they got higher, part of the reason my friend wanted to get rid of this part of the clump... arcing over the sidewalk into another tree, way up in the air.

[Mark Meckes]

Ah well you can tick off B.tuldoides as a candidate as it can get to barely 3" in diameter.
B. oldhamii does get culms a good 4" in diameter.

Possible candidate...
Another species which looks very similar to B. oldhamii is Bambusa beecheyana
The main noticeable difference is
- little bigger in size - will get to 5" in diameter
- more arching culms/branches then B. oldhamii, which is more erect
- when shooting, culms have a powdery coating on their surface.
Here's our Gallery Bamboo Flora - Category: Bambusa beecheyana (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=530) (just started).

Your best opportunity to get a positive ID will be when the new shoots begin to emerge, best Id'd from your friends more mature shoots.

Mark

[pressurewave]

when my friend's plants are shooting again, I'll get another pic and maybe it'll be easier to figure out then. I don't expect these to shoot too soon as the roots were probably pretty shocked in the moving process (though we did get a nice big giant root ball, and the rhizomes going to this peice (which was at the outer edge of the clump) distinctly reminded me of a tree branch in size (and required a chainsaw to get through, actually)... I'm sure that signify's healthy and active growth is in my future with this plant.

Thanks for the help so far Mark!

[Mark Meckes]

Thanks for sharing your pics with us!
Bambusa are typically summer shooters in these parts (vs temperate species which do their shooting in spring)
There emergence is contingent on rainy /dry seasonal patterns too, so a watered plant will shoot earlier.
That certainly is a healthy and humguous hunk of Bambusa!
You will most likely get earlier reactionary sprouts shooting from the base initially, probably in the next month or so, with hopefully some larger culms emerging from the core during their normal shooting sequence.
Some of these tillering sprouts can be removed after the larger culms have become established.
By next year you will have some major action.
It's a good possibility this species will also have culinary (edible) properties.
A benefit of spacing the future culms during shooting season.
Keep us updated as the plant progresses.
Cheers,
Mark

[pressurewave]

One more image for the time being - my wife was so kind as to snap a shot for size comparison on one of the culms to her hand - I think this is one of the 3.5" thick culms.

Nice close up so you can see what the plant looks like.

http://pics.livejournal.com/nymphie/pic/00110524

[tharlow]

A few more questions might help id it. How thick are the culm walls? And 2, where was this growing? Some of the clumpers seem to have different appearances in FL than they do in CA (I believe it has to do with humidy and seasonal rain cycles).

I'm thinking the leaves might look too thin to be Bambusa vulgaris (a very common large clumper). If it is, though, a shot of new shoots is a pretty quick give away. I don't think it's that but I'm not totally ready to dismiss it. I want to keep this one in the running as a possibility. Like beechy it will be more leaning than oldhamii.

Mark's right with oldhamii, the clump should be pretty verticle. Beechy seems plausible, but I'm thinking the ones I remember weren't branching to the ground.

One of the reasons I asked about culm thickness is, that with what look to be long branches going way down, I can't help but think of Bambusa dissemulator. The pictures of Robert's linked on this table are NOT representative of the typical dissemulator (he keeps his extremely well groomed). These plants produce prodigious amounts of long branches. The wood is very hard, and thick. Listed at 3" it might be too small. You might want to put a calliper to those culms, as I think many of us have a tendency to over estimate diameter on larger plants.

Check out these descriptions and linked pictures.

FCC Bambusa species description page (http://www.tropicalbamboo.org/bambusa.htm)

If you like cross list your ID on the Florida Bamboo Discussion list in my signature. --Tom

[tharlow]

How spaced apart were the majority of culms? I'm thinking about withdrawing vulgaris. I still like dissemulator if the 5" really isn't 5.

--Tom

[pressurewave]

I got out there just now with my measuring tape and found my largest culm to be just over 3 inches... I know my friend's were slightly larger (these were the youngest ones of the bunch).

That being the case, could these be B. malingensis? It says 2.5" max, but is it possible they could be bigger?

[tharlow]

Ventricosa/toldoides and oldhamii are fairly common in central FL as is vulgaris (even though Orlando gets cold enough to nail it, I have seen some large clumps inland). The shape of the clump would help distinguish the 3. Ventricosa can be a sprawling mass, oldhamii is pretty straight up/down, and vulgaris is in between. The shoots on vulgaris ar hairy, and oldhamii are tighter wrapped and without the hair (based on memory now that I'm living in MO).

I don't think malingensis is quite common in central FL yet. If you are ever in the Melbourne area, check out the Palm Bay branch of the Brevard County extension Office where there are 30+ varieties. Also go to Leu Gardens to see examples that are labeled.
--Tom

[pressurewave]

Leu Gardens - I actually have passes for that place... I remember the bamboo there, and I'll have to go up there with a piece and compare and contrast... hehe. Good idea!

[Mark Meckes]

Tom wrote... oldhamii are tighter wrapped and without the hair (based on memory now that I'm living in MO.
[b]Bambusa oldhamii[/i] does have some hairs on it's culm sheaths, (I remember getting itchy taking some of these close up pics)
See gallery of Bambusa oldhamii (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=505)

Also you may want to check for Scale on your Bambusa.
http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/541/thumbs/B-oldhamii_ScaleFTG031016-059F.jpg
see more (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=1011)
This scale is common amongst Bambusa's, and now while your plant is small is a good time to rub them off the culms with a rag, (if you have 'em).

Do please take your camera to Leu Gardens. We will appreciate any photo contributions.

Mark