Phyllostachys species ID? - Mediteran Botanic Garden, Croatia

[vigli]

And here are the photos of bamboo which I take from Mediteran botanic garden 1 year ago.
http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/534/thumbs/Phyllostachys-A1.jpg See photo (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=2284) http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/534/thumbs/Phyllostachys-A2.jpg See photo (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=2283) http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/534/thumbs/Phyllostachys-A3.jpg See photo ( http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=2282)

Here is the story.
I was in the botanic garden in Croatia /Mediteran/. I saw one very nice bamboo. The culms are straight in the sky. The culm size is 6-7 cm. In the sky???…….hmmmm- maybe around 15-18 meters. Branches are not very long and the lowests branches follow the culm direction-rirght in the sky. The lowest branch is mostly only one, but all upper branches on the culm are two on the each node. The lowest branch /which mostly one as I said/ grow and follow the main culm in same direction /there are paralel/.Right in sky. It is Phylostachys for sure and it has leptomorph rhizomes.
The nodes are close one to each other like on our Ph elegans, spetial on the trunk of the culm.
The young shoot are glossy purple-green and after they extend on the 1 meter size the upper sheets are more dark . It has fimbrie but very smaller the our Ph. elegans. No hair on the turion. It is smooth and glossy. I visit office of the park and they help me to take part of the rhizome. I take one foot long rhizome with weight of hmmmm about 4 lb. Big one. Half of the buds were dead but it still had live buds.

The new planting
http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/534/thumbs/Phyllostachys-A4.jpg See photo ( http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=2281) http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/534/thumbs/Phyllostachys-A5.jpg See photo (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=2280) http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/534/thumbs/Phyllostachys-A6.jpg See photo ( http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=2279)
Last year it starts to grow-about 2 feet. Five litle turions start to grow. 3 of them died soon as they go out from the ground, but 2 stay in life. Small leaves are on the formed culm.
But young shoots were open green without purple color. hmmmmmmm
Next season. , this spring, it start to shoot 2 shoots. The first go out from the ground on March 15! But the weather was cold so it didn’t grow fast. The second one emerged one month later. First One is almost inch diameter. This turion don’t have purple color, again as last year. It is open-light green color and glossy!
And most interesting that blade leaves on the turion are green in the central nerv but lateral /on periferial of the blade/ are yellow.. I thought the culm would die because it is yellowing. But is growing slowly and yellow parts start to green and all new blade from the top of the turion are yellow again. All turion is open and light green. Like grass color. No purple color as at the forest .
Maybe the different in the blade and sheet color is that my bamboo grow on the open sun and the turion from the mature forest growing in the shadow. I’m not sure. hmmmmmm
I took photos from it too. In the mature forest and in my garden.
I think it is Ph. Viridis.
It will be easier with photos.
Thanks a lot for the help.

First 3 photos are made in the mature forest. All the other in my garden.The 4th photos is very young shoot /in my garden/ and on the last photo - turion is already started to extending /in my garden too/.
See the different of the shoot color in mature forest and in my garden!
Enjoy the photos
Thanks a lot for the help.
Stay touch.
Boris

[vigli]

Hi Mark.
About bamboo from mediteran gaden.
I think I sent photos which are good enought for identification. I have no other :-(
Young shoots are very good on the photos and I think for identification of bamboo one of the moust important factors are shoots.
Also I sent photos of mature forest too. I thing it is good enought. I have no other photos.
One more interesting thing about this bamboo is that culm surface is not ideal glossy. It has striation on the culm /very small-one/which are along culms grow direction.
Bamboo with striation are Ph makioni and Ph viridis.
I think it is ph viridis because shoots color is not the same as Ph. makioni.
Bamboo grow around 15 meteres with 6-7 cm culm size.
These are all information about this bamboo and all other informaion in the last text about this bamboo.
If You have some idea, on some bamboo species You can try to say Your thinking. With more information I could explore more.

Thanks a lot.
Best wishes.
Boris

[Mark Meckes]

Thanks Boris, for showing these photos. Very nice!
The mother grove looks very different to the starter plant.
That's normal for bamboo, and this does make species ID more difficult.

Here are links to 2 galleries that have been started for showing pics of Phyllostachys viridis and P.v.`Robert Young'

Their shoots/sprouts are very similar.

More photos will soon be added that may help you to determine if this is, or is not Phyllostachys viridis.

Phyllostachys viridis (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=550) Gallery Bamboo Flora

... more shoot ID in ...
Phyllostachys viridis `Robert Young' (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=551) Gallery Bamboo Flora

The surface of P. viridis spp culms is slightly dimpled, similar, but less pronounced than pig-skin leather.

By rubbing your fingers lightly up and down the culm you can feel the surface irregularity.
It will not be as obvious with small diameter culms.

~ Mark