Download Bamboo - San Diego Zoo

10
Chocolate Bamboo
Borinda fungosa
Alphonse Karr Bamboo
13
Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’
When exposed to sufficient sunlight the culm turns a
reddish-brown; hence, the common name ‘chocolate
bamboo’. The culm strips are also used for weaving.
Native to China, this species is also
known as ‘Cheena Bata’ (Chinese
bamboo) in Sri Lanka. It makes an
excellent ornamental and container
plant. The juvenile, magenta-colored
culms distinguishes it from other
Bambusa multiplex variants.
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
Considered an open clumper,
this bamboo is one of the most
dramatic of all weeping-form
bamboos. It can reach a height of
approximately 20 feet. A native
of Yunnan, China at elevations
between 6,000 to 9,000 feet.
Mei Nung Bamboo
14
11
Dendrocalamus latiflorus cv.‘Mei Nung’
Silverstripe Bamboo
This large Taiwanese bamboo grows
to approximately 65 feet with culm
diameters of 8 inches. It’s a clumping
bamboo with lime-green culms and
dark-green stripes. Emerging shoots are
edible. It is found naturally growing from
Taiwan into southern China.
Bambusa multiplex ‘Silverstripe’
12
Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon’
Native throughout Asia, this is one of
the least invasive species of running
bamboo. An attractive ornamental with
smooth, yellow culms, it has dark green
stripes in a groove, called a sulcus,
along the culm’s length.
Fernleaf Bamboo
Bambusa multiplex ‘Fernleaf’
A non-invasive clumping bamboo,
it grows to approximately 10 to 15
feet. A very attractive bamboo, its
uniquely delicate leaves are fernlike in appearance. It is appreciated
as an impressive soft screen or as a
hedge and can be sheared as such.
All bamboos are a type of grass belonging to the
family Poaceae, which also includes rice, wheat,
and sugar cane.
Striped Running Timber Bamboo
15
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
A classic multiplex in its leaf
structure, the name ‘Silverstripe’
refers to the silverish-white striping
on the leaf. Sometimes, only an
occasional single stripe can be
found on the culm.
Most smaller Bambusa multiplex make good container
plants, if circumstances are suitable. They also can be
grown as indoor plants with correct lighting.
This plant is named after Jean-Baptist Alphonse Karr,
a French horticulturist, critic, journalist, novelist, and
pamphleteer of the 19th century.
A sulcus is the groove a bud produces by pushing into the
soft, new culm as the plant elongates in height. This is a
prominent feature of the Phyllostachys genus.
FUN
FACT
Made possible through the generosity of
In areas where deer are a nuisance to plants,
this species is preferred as a short, thick, deerresistant hedge.
The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation
sandiegozoo.org
Bamboo
Buddha Belly Bamboo
Bambusa ventricosa
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
5
3
Silver Stripe Blowgun Bamboo
Bambusa dolichomerithalla
6
Beechy Bamboo
Bambusa beecheyana
8
This species has a lower water requirement than most
other types of bamboo, making it a good choice for
water-wise landscaping.
Arrow Bamboo
Pseudosasa japonica
Japanese Samurai honed their skills by using this species of
bamboo for arrows due to its stiffness and straightness.
Indocalamus tessellatus
The large leaves of this plant are used for
steaming and wrapping food in Asian cuisine.
Umbrella Bamboo
Fargesia murieliae
Damp, cool forest woodlands
are where this spectacular
ornamental bamboo thrives. Its
range is from East Asia to Central
China, West Sichuan, Guizhu, and
Shaanxi Provinces at elevations
up to 10,000 feet. This species is
important panda food in China.
9
Also known as metake, this species was
introduced into France from its native
Japan in the 1850s. In the 1860s, it made
its way to the United States—one of the
first ornamental Asian bamboos to be
grown here. Less aggressive than other
running bamboos, this type makes a good
background screen or container plant.
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
Native to Taiwan, this clumping
bamboo is characterized by growing
in a tight bunch, with dark-green
culms marked by silver-white stripes.
The arching 35- to 40-inch culms
make this an excellent choice as a
privacy screen plant.
The straighter culms have been used as blowpipes,
and others are used as cooking vessels.
Bamboo may be the fastest growing plant on Earth. One
species has been reported to grow up to 35 inches per
day—that’s about 1.5 inches per hour.
Big-leaved Bamboo
The dark-green, oblong leaves of
this species are the largest of the
bamboos. They can measure up
to 25 inches long and 5 inches
wide, yet it only reaches heights
of 4 to 7 feet. It is a small running
bamboo native to the Yangtze
River, China.
Another native of the Guandong
Province in southern China. Its
variable, arching pattern reaches
up to 50 feet with a culm diameter
of about 5 inches. Maturing culms
usually have a white powder on
them, and tender young shoots are
eaten by animals and humans.
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
This bamboo is native to Vietnam,
Guangdong Province in southern
China, and along the coast of
southern China. Often used in
bonsai, its attractiveness is in the
swollen nodes and dark green
culms. It is also a natural browse or
food source for livestock.
The characteristically swollen nodes—induced by stress or
breeding—earn it the common name Buddha belly bamboo.
Without the mutation, this plant grows upright and tall, and is
then known as common bamboo.
7
FUN
FACT
Bambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata’
With its vibrant colors, this large,
tropical bamboo is especially prized
as an ornamental in its native China.
Although its emerging shoots have
a high cyanide content, they are still
consumed after being boiled—the
boiled water is then used medicinally.
2
Dendrocalamus asper
This giant, tropical/subtropical bamboo,
native to Southeast Asia and India, can
grow to 100 feet tall with culms 8 to
10 inches in diameter. The emerging
shoots are favored as an edible
vegetable, while mature culms are used
as cooking vessels, musical instruments,
beehives, and other useful items.
Painted Bamboo
In biology, vitatta is the Latin term used to
describe a stripe or band of color.
Rough Bamboo
FUN
FACT
1
4
In the United States, this species is grown as an
ornamental. In Asia, it is harvested for paper and food, and
the culms are sometimes used to make farming tools.
Black Bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra
This popular and attractive type
of bamboo grows in many forms,
varying in size and coloration. Some
are less invasive than other running
bamboos. It is excellent in a contained
environment, in a garden, or as a
potted plant. This special bamboo
ranges across eastern and central Asia.
FUN
FACT
Match
the numbers to the plant ID signs. The tour
begins in the Lost Forest near tigers, continues past
the hippos, then up Park Way towards pandas.
After being introduced into the southeast United States,
this genus was used by Thomas Edison to start his light
bulb factory by using filaments produced from pieces
of the culm.
10
Chocolate Bamboo
Borinda fungosa
Alphonse Karr Bamboo
13
Bambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’
When exposed to sufficient sunlight the culm turns a
reddish-brown; hence, the common name ‘chocolate
bamboo’. The culm strips are also used for weaving.
Native to China, this species is also
known as ‘Cheena Bata’ (Chinese
bamboo) in Sri Lanka. It makes an
excellent ornamental and container
plant. The juvenile, magenta-colored
culms distinguishes it from other
Bambusa multiplex variants.
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
Considered an open clumper,
this bamboo is one of the most
dramatic of all weeping-form
bamboos. It can reach a height of
approximately 20 feet. A native
of Yunnan, China at elevations
between 6,000 to 9,000 feet.
Mei Nung Bamboo
14
11
Dendrocalamus latiflorus cv.‘Mei Nung’
Silverstripe Bamboo
This large Taiwanese bamboo grows
to approximately 65 feet with culm
diameters of 8 inches. It’s a clumping
bamboo with lime-green culms and
dark-green stripes. Emerging shoots are
edible. It is found naturally growing from
Taiwan into southern China.
Bambusa multiplex ‘Silverstripe’
12
Phyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon’
Native throughout Asia, this is one of
the least invasive species of running
bamboo. An attractive ornamental with
smooth, yellow culms, it has dark green
stripes in a groove, called a sulcus,
along the culm’s length.
Fernleaf Bamboo
Bambusa multiplex ‘Fernleaf’
A non-invasive clumping bamboo,
it grows to approximately 10 to 15
feet. A very attractive bamboo, its
uniquely delicate leaves are fernlike in appearance. It is appreciated
as an impressive soft screen or as a
hedge and can be sheared as such.
All bamboos are a type of grass belonging to the
family Poaceae, which also includes rice, wheat,
and sugar cane.
Striped Running Timber Bamboo
15
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
FUN
FACT
A classic multiplex in its leaf
structure, the name ‘Silverstripe’
refers to the silverish-white striping
on the leaf. Sometimes, only an
occasional single stripe can be
found on the culm.
Most smaller Bambusa multiplex make good container
plants, if circumstances are suitable. They also can be
grown as indoor plants with correct lighting.
This plant is named after Jean-Baptist Alphonse Karr,
a French horticulturist, critic, journalist, novelist, and
pamphleteer of the 19th century.
A sulcus is the groove a bud produces by pushing into the
soft, new culm as the plant elongates in height. This is a
prominent feature of the Phyllostachys genus.
FUN
FACT
Made possible through the generosity of
In areas where deer are a nuisance to plants,
this species is preferred as a short, thick, deerresistant hedge.
The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation
sandiegozoo.org
Bamboo