What differences define a bamboo species as distinct?

[Mark Meckes]

What differences define a bamboo species as distinct?

I believe, (correction appreciated) that bamboo genera are separated by the structure of their flowering parts, which also due to the long interval between flowering of some bamboo species has led to a waiting game to verify/correct the genus with which some species belong.

Do species within a genus have differences in their flowering structure?

I would like to get better understanding of what is required to define a species within a genus as distinct and separate from another species of the same genus.

[ShmuBamboo]

Hmmm, good botany question. I am a horticulturist. I asked some of my botanist friends while I am here in California, and they always break it down by classification. I guess you have to look at it from the way that plant species are defined and named. A botanical classification for the bamboos are:

Kingdon: Plantae (plants)
Phylum: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
{Phylum AKA: Division: angiospermae (the angiosperms)}
Class: Liliopsida (monocotoledons; one kernel/one leaf sprouts from seeds)
Sub-class: Commelinales (non-petal flowered monocots)
Order: Poales (grasses and grasslike plants)
Family: Poaceae (grasses)
Sub-family: Bambusoideae (bamboos)
Tribe(1): Olyreae (herbacious bamboos)
Tribe(2): Bambuseae (woody bamboos, or what we grow as 'bamboo')

So now that we have it down to woody bamboos, which is generally what we talk about here on this forum. Note that the bamboos are the only woody members of the grass family. They also combine the most primitive characteristics occurring within the family, like florets with six stamens, and tricarpellate pistils. From here we can get down to the genus, species, etc. Before I get to that I will go further to more classifications from where we left off above at the sub-tribe level:

Genus: (see below) ie. Fargesia, Phyllostachys, Sasa
Species: (see below) nitida, nigra, kurilansis
Sub-species: geographical variation unique to the source location (as compared to the true species).
Variety: wild characteristic influenced by growth habitat and climate (grows taller, paler, shorter than typical species)
Forma: some unique characteristic that has developed in the wild (spotted culms, color difference, etc.).
Cultivar: some unique characteristic that has developed under cultivation (as opposed to wild).
Affinity: some variation that has a close affinity to the species type form.

Distinction between variety, cultivar, and forma can be tough ones, as some cultivar characteristics occur in the wild, and some forma or variety characteristics occur in cultivation. Chance sports and reversion in bamboos seem to be common in several species (ie., Phyllostachys vivax 'Aureocaulis' seems to revert to the type form and other cultivar forms, and these changes occur in nature as well as in the greenhouse, so you may see aureocaulis listed as a cultivar or as a forma).

There seems to be a lot of poor naming and/or classification in a lot of bamboos that I have seen. Also there are more changes being made in naming every year as bamboos flower, and are genetically tested, or new types with similar features are found in cultivation or in the wild. Or supposedly different species are found to be the same after testing, or same species with different varieties are found to be in a completely different genus. The front of the ABS source list has a few pages of renamed bamboos. A lot of problems stem from the fact that bamboos flower so rarely, and a lot of classification in flowering plants is based on the description of flowers, fruits and seeds.

Now... back to your question about species differentiation. I will start with the genus, as that has the first half the classification of a typical plant name (ie., Phyllostachys nigra). A genus is... Typically a genus of bamboo is categorized by shared characteristics within the tribe but the plant species within the genus have some or several qualities that are different. For example, Phyllostachys typically all have an alternating sulcus and usually two or sometimes three branches growing from swollen nodes. The sulcus alone differentiates Phyllostachys from most of the other bamboos. Phyllostachys have leptomorph rhizomes that are slender and indeterminate, and the rhizomes have buds on all nodes past the neck/stem join area. They also have leaves that have clearly visible veinlets perpendicular to the leaf veins when held up to a light.

Then there are species within a genus. Typically species are categorized by specifically different characteristics within a genus. For example, Phy. nigra typically has black or a combination of black colored culms. But Phy. nigra 'Henon' does not have a black culm, but has the same leaf type and growth as other nigras. nigra may be a bad example, as there is very wide variety in the species. So lets look at say, ... have to run and clean this up and finish it later. Sorry...

[Mark Meckes]

Great read! ... a student of learning with no proper educational background I much appreciate this :)

From what I can surmise, another distinction between a grass and a bamboo, is that though bamboo is a grass, a bamboo leaf has a petiole (stem section) between the leaf and connecting leaf sheath and a grass doesn't.

Bamboo leaf (Phyllostachys aurea) with petiole (stem) between leaf and sheath attachment
http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/503/thumbs/1PaureaTX050330-854.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=973)

A grass, like this Arundo donax leaf has no petiole
http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/data/572/thumbs/Adonax050810ATX-907.jpg (http://www.bamboocraft.net/bamboo/showphoto.php?photo=1300)

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Note that the bamboos are the only woody members of the grass family.
I would have thought of the grass Arundo donax as being somewhat woody, though not as woody as many bamboos of course, but in warmer climates a culm will live for a number of years.
... just picking straws here ;)

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Here's a couple reference links to:

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (VIENNA CODE)
adopted by the Seventeenth International Botanical Congress
Vienna, Austria, July 2005

http://www.ibot.sav.sk/karolx/kod/0000Viennatitle.htm
(As of this posting detailed info to be available online soon)

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ST LOUIS CODE)
adopted by the Sixteenth International Botanical Congress
St Louis, Missouri, July-August 1999

http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclature/code/SaintLouis/0000St.Luistitle.htm
(Detailed info available online)

Mark

[ShmuBamboo]

Well, before I discuss differences between other grasses and bamboos, I will finish the species descriptors. Where was I? Oh yes... a major issue with boo ID is that they flower so rarely that they have to be defined mainly from vegetative growth alone. That raises issues, and when they eventually do flower they often times become correctly identified and moved someplace else based on flower or seed characteristics.

Anyway, plant genus and species are often identified by using keys, and those typically list traits of growth habit, color, leaf, stem, internodes, nodes, flower, fruit, seeds, root, rhizome, time of shooting, leafing out and flowering, and other observable plant characteristics. In bamboos you have to toss out flowers, fruit, and seeds and add mature shoots and sheath (along with ligule and auricle) characteristics to the list of typical methods to ID species and sub-species. Actually the keys used in the booklet, Bamboos of the Genus Phyllostachys uses mature spring shoots as the main element to define this species of this genus. They also use growth habit, leaf forms, culm color and shape, sheath, sheath blade, auricle, ligule, as well as a general description of the species. But that booklet is now rather outdated and several Phy. species are no longer valid or have been moved. As we have conjectured on this forum as well, there are obviously more species that may well be moved in future, like Phy. Meyeri.

Comparison is another way to define a particular species. Say, compare Phy. aurea and Phy. nigra. An auea of most types is almost always going to have randomly compressed internodes. They also tend to have a 1/4 to 1/2 inch bulge in the internodes just below the nodes and the culms tend to turn yellow to gold in full sun. They also tend to have branches and leaves right down to the ground. Compare that to Phy. nigra which have no internode compression and are usually going to have black or black splotchy colored culms in full sun. They also tend to have little to no branching and leafing on the lower parts of the plant.

Again, these traits can be used in keys to differentiate one species from another. Then as in each of these species there may be variations, so varieties, cultivars and so forth are designated and named so that they can be identified and classified at a more granular level. Colored sulcus? Size and thickness of culms? Missing internode compression? Sheath blade, auricle, and ligule qualities? Different intensity of or lack of culm coloration? All traits of specific specimens. There are also differences at the vascular, cellular, and genetic level, but these are generally not observable in the field with a glass and a key book. In the end, I think that a lot of bamboos will have to be ID'd using these methods, as the flowering cycle is just too infrequent and a huge amount of information is not available to make species classifications with. Bamboo is not the only plant with this type of problem though.

In the world of grape cultivars, genetic testing has been the only way to tell where several types of ancient varieties originated from. For example the origin of zinfandel grape clones has long been debated. It was thought that it came from Italy, becasue they grow zinfandel grapes there (which they call primativo). However, it was found through genetic testing that primativo grapes in Italy are actually descendants of American zinfandel, which were brough there from Austria in about 1820. After that was determined, the world was searched high and low, and eventually the source of the zinfandel grape was found. Zinfandel comes from a small island off the coast of Croatia, where it has been grown for hundreds of years (maybe even several millenia) under a different name, Crljenak. I have no idea how to pronounce that, but I like the taste and buzz of zin... ;)

Cheers...

[ShmuBamboo]

Oh yah, as for the codes and agreed upon botanical terms and stuff... there is great variation between American and UK bamboo ID, as well as European and Asian ID. There are even more differences between Chinese and Japanese and Korean bamboo ID. I am sure there is also a long list of contrarian Indian bamboo ID out there someplace as well.

And the names... man, there are so many common names for the same bamboo it is insane. I have come up with a list that I drag around with me, bacause so many nurseries use different names for the same bamboo. I found Phy. vivax 'Aureocaulis' named as 'Greenstripe vivax' species the other day. Greenstripe vivax? Scratching head... and there was one called 'Giant black.' Well, that could be any of 5 or 6 different Phy. nigras out there. Then of course there is the famous 'Tortoise Shell' that I bought. *shaking head*

[cngodles]

Don't know if I'm adding nonsense to this conversation, as my post may be going a different direction.

I would find the following being the unique combination of characteristics for all the unique bamboo species:

Leaf Size
Leaf Color
Culm Height
Culm Diameter
Culm Colorings
Leaf Hairs (name escapes me)
Rhyzome Production (R or C)
Root characteristics (hollow?)
Cold Hardiness
Heat Tolerance
Growth Rate

Am I missing anything?

[Mark Meckes]

That's a good start Clint.
I've been meaning to work on a listing of traits related to each part of the plant, and I'll post it into a new thread soon which we can review.

Some preliminary thoughts ...
One of the quests here with the photo gallery is to show identifying details of every component of each bamboo at different stages of growth in differing climates/growing conditions.
The gallery categories at Bamboo Flora to date essentially serve as the primary repository of pics. There are also numerous other gallery functions/tools in which we will be able to present the pics in different formats which will be addressed later.

An additional need is to make a featured page for each species, to highlight each identifying trait.
We will need to set up a standardized methodology for reviewing each species.

As you may have surmised, I like to take pics of bamboo whenever the opportunity arises, and though I still have a back-log of pics on my computer to upload, there are many many more pics to come and this will require a group effort to get a comprehensive overview, or else, and maybe I just might have to put on my walking boots and go on a world-wide bamboo photojournal expedition.

Getting a list together of species ID features is important in order to also know what detailed shots are still needed.
On a personal note, I have either neglected to take a picture of a specific part, which I regret if the trait is only seasonal, requiring a whole years wait for another opportunity and maybe not having an opportunity to visit the planting again.
Or if the only photos taken are out of focus or needing a better quality rendition, or if specific measurements, time of year or other details were not recorded.
There are so many deatils that I have neglected to record in the past that I hope, by compiling a methodology, that I'll take more notes as I click away.

Keep in mind that photographing live plants is just the first step towards the dissection of, and much needed extensive plant materials evaluation, treatments, durability studies, and various applications, techniques for working with, and uses of the harvested materials.
And then there are all the other living creatures that visit or associate with the bamboo.

My personal favorite places to photograph bamboo are wild overgrown groves because they can reveal much more about the life and after life of the old culms etc.

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A couple things that I've been intrigued about regarding bamboo species identification ...

The history of, and details and reasons behind each name(s) of each bamboo species.
This is a very complex subject, especially because of all the name changes that so many bamboo species have had, and meanings of common names given to different bamboos in different cultures.

The other interesting apsect is exploring similar identification traits between diferent genera or species within a genus.

I agree that on a scientific level, genetic fingerprinting will help to solve many mysteries regarding the evolutionary path of the bamboos and provide a greater understanding of the associations between species.

However us backyard researchers need not wait for scientific answers and can, by observing similar ID traits and other characteristics at least pose questions that may someday be answered through high-tech analysis.

For example, one question is the association between air canals in the rhizomes of Phyllostachys heteroclada and cultivars, and Phyllostachys atrovaginata, and their ability to grow in more compacted/waterlogged conditions.

Another example of similar associations (that I'm not sure if it has been discussed) is some similarities between Phyllosatchys nigra 'Henon' and Phyllostachys edulis:
Similarities:
- They both grow to a large diameter
- Sheaths of both species are hairy, though different
- New culms have a velvety surface, though slightly different
- Mature culms can exhibit a white surface coating, though slightly different
- Leaves of large, mature culms are a small size.
- Branches of both species are stout, with little or no hollow core.
- Both species are a favoured delicacy of the bamboo mite

There are a number of other traits which do help to determine that these two species are distinctly different, and this is just a discourse to question whether they might, due to similar traits, be closely retated on the evolutionary tree.

There are other bamboo species which have even greater similarities and it could be questioned whether or not they are forms of the same species.

For example McClure questioned back in the mid 1900's whether Phyllostachys makinoi could be a form of Phyllostachys viridis.

Mark

[ShmuBamboo]

Stomping around in mature and huge groves of Henon and Moso last week I would say that they are a separate and different species. Though all the tall timber types are all probably very closely related to each other, as say than the smaller Phyllostachys. Note that several types of Phyllostachys and Hibanobambusa have Henon as a parent. It will be interesting to find out what boos are parents of other boos. It is easy given modern genetic testing. Even cultivars of single clones of grapes have been pinpointed as to which ones came first. They also found out that Chardonay is the child of a wild trash grape in France that grows like a weed there. No one believed that the prized grape came from such garbage heritage. Some surprizes are sure in store in the bamboo family as well.

Anyway, Henon tends to have the burned leaf tips, and several other typical black traits. Moso has a lot more fuzz on new culms. Vivax tends to split and/or scar at the base of the giant culms. Actually I see that happening on my more jouvinille vivax here. I believe that the tensil strengths were all tested for Vivax, Henon, Moso, and others. There are unique differences in the strength of the culms. Though growing and curing conditions may have an affect on those types of results. I have also been intrigued with the one way rough 'sandpaper effect' on several types of Phyllostachys culms. Aureosulcatas for several. Some others have the same feel. May be related, or may not.

An interesting comparison is the supposed pair of different clones of Phy. violascens. We were looking at that type a lot last week in my new boo friend's collection. I should have taken photos of specimins in his collection, but my digital camera chip was out of memory from my earlier visit to the Hakone gardens that day. Missed opportunity, but I will return there in future and take some photos. He has some impressive Moso, Henon, Violascens, Vivax, Giant Timber (Oldhamii) several different giant nigras, and many other types of large bamboo. He also has lawns growing of short bamboos that are interesting.