Bamboo in Maryland (Phyllostachys aureosulcata)

[andrew3]

Hello, I live in 21144 MD and have alot of bamboo in my backyard. I just grabbed a small piece, but i can get more pictures of the bigger plants tomorrow. Please let me know what I should take pictures of to help ID. I noticed a couple plants that are probably a little over 1.5" in diameter.
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The tiles in the picture are 1 foot square.
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Thanks for your help.
- Andrew

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Andrew,
Though your pics only show one branch at the node, are there more commonly 2 branches at each node further up the culm?

It looks like a Phyllostachys species.

If so, there will be a groove or sulcus along the internode where the branching begins.
Is this groove a pale yellow or is it green?

The skate boarding making discussion has been split over to this thread:
Making a bamboo skateboard (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1742) in the Working with Bamboo Forum

Mark

[andrew3]

Thanks Mark, I did not expect such a prompt response. Here are some more pictures:

Picture 1: All of these plants have been pushed over because of the recent ice storm.

http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/520/medium/P2192500.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=3833&size=big&cat=520&ppuser=2201)

Picture 2: A picture of a node(?) I think i might have taken the picture upside down.... (edit.. rotated pic)

http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/520/medium/P2192502.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=3832&cat=520&size=big&ppuser=2201)

And yes 2 branches at each node seems to be the trend, I am not exactly sure where you are describing for the groove... but here is a close up at one of the nodes (Picture 2).

Thanks again,
-Andrew

[Mark Meckes]

Hi Andrew, cool pics! (have crosslinked them to your gallery at Bamboo Flora)
It looks like you had a whopper of an ice storm. Hopefully some culms will straighten back up.

Yep, what you have is Phyllostachys aureosulcata (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showgallery.php?cat=520) - Yellow Groove Bamboo.

The groove I was referring to runs lengthwise along opposite sides of the internode and is most prominent where the culm has branches.
At the bottom portion below the branching, the culm circumference is mostly round and there is a yellow stripe on alternating sides of the internode, which is more visible with younger green culms.
In locations with full sun exposure to the culms, older maturing culms can change from a green to a golden yellow color.

This species is more commonly seen than other Phyllostachys species in cold climates as it is one of the hardiest bamboos of this Genus.
Also another reason is because it was distributed back in the early 1920's as a good all-round farm use crop, It is one of the earliest to shoot, (probably will begin to emerge in late April in your area), and the shoots are quite tasty.

I would rate this as a medium quality material if based on durability. The culm surface is more porous than other species and culms can have a tendancy to split under duress, (suggesting that is has numerous applications where split material is required.
Suitable for many craft uses, and in climates where otherwise higher quality bamboo species grow poorly, this species excels.

Mark