Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex H. de Lehaie

A very strong growing, rhizomatous bamboo with very stout, bright green stems, leaves narrow and small, to 10cm long, and terminal panicles of flowers.  The young shoots are edible and this is the most important source of culinary Bamboo Shoots.  To 20m or more.  [Several internet sources].

Horticultural & Botanical History

No specific data.  Bambusa pubescens is described in Johnson’s Dictionary as a bamboo from Indonesia growing to 6m. which has edible shoots.  Introduced to Britain in 1826.  This brief description does not seem to match either Dendrocalamus strictus or Phyllostachys pubescens.  Figured in Les Bambusées.  [Camus - Les Bambusées Fig.1/1913].

History at Camden Park

Listed in all catalogues [T.129/1843].  

Notes

Another possibility is Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.) Nees, which see.  Macarthur frequently used names found in Conrad Loddiges’ nursery catalogues or in the Botanical Cabinet and it seems likely that his plant was Loddiges’ Bambusa pubescens, i.e. Dendrocalamus strictus.  Neither Dendrocalamus strictus nor Phyllostachys pubescens can be accurately described as ‘dwarf’ except in a relative sense, such as Roxburgh’s ‘stems fewer, straighter, and smaller, than in the common sort’.  There are a number of Bamboo species surviving in the gardens, none definatively identified.  When this is done it may provide an accurate identification for Macarthur’s Bambusa pubescens.

Published Mar 28, 2009 - 05:08 PM | Last updated Mar 30, 2010 - 01:39 PM


The photograph shows a tall, thick-caned bamboo in situ.  Les Bambus?es Fig.1, 1913.

Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex H. de Lehaie | Camus - Les Bambusées Fig.1/1913 | BHL

More details about Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel ex H. de Lehaie
Family Poaceae
Category
Region of origin

China

Synonyms
  • Bambusa pubescens Carrière
  • Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) Houzeau de Lehaie
Common Name

Moso Bamboo, Hairy Bamboo

Name in the Camden Park Record

Bambusa pubescens - dwarf bamboo

Confidence level low