''Phyllostachys aurea'' is a species of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

, and is of the 'running bamboo' type, belonging to the diverse Bambuseae tribe. It is native to

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

and

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

in China. It is commonly known by the names fishpole bamboo, golden bamboo, monk's belly bamboo, and fairyland bamboo (Australia).

Cultivation

''Phyllostachis aurea'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

for gardens. In the United States, Australia and Italy, it is considered an invasive species that crowds out native species and becomes a

monoculture In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare/acre cornfield and a 10-ha/acre field of organic kale are ...

that is difficult to remove. It is a cold-hardy bamboo, performing well in USDA zones 6 to 10, (Connecticut to Florida). In the UK it has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit. It is a tall

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

species growing to tall by broad. Like most bamboos it can become invasive if kept in warm, moist conditions in good quality soil with access to full sunlight. It is a prohibited species in New York.

Cultivars

Cultivars include: * ''P. aurea'' 'Flavescens Inversa' – some lower culms may show a pale yellow stripe on the sulcus * ''P. aurea'' 'Holochrysa' – common name "golden golden", culms turn yellow/gold sooner than the type form, random leaves have a yellow stripe * ''P. aurea'' 'Koi' – culms turn yellow, but sulcus stays green, random leaves have a yellow stripe * ''P. aurea'' 'Takemurai' – culms grow taller and lack the compressed

internodes A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, stores nutrien ...

of the type form

Uses

''P. aureas lush foliage makes it desirable for ornamental purposes and privacy hedges, and its characteristic 'knotty' compressed lower internodes render it desirable among collectors. It is well-suited to the making of bamboo pipes.

Identification and growth habit

Golden_Bamboo_(Phyllostachys_Aureosulcata)_Compressed_Internodes

The common forms of ''P. aurea'' are easily identified by their characteristic compressed internodes in the lower part of the canes which have a tortoise shell-like appearance. This internodal compression result in shorter heights (25 ft) and thicker cane diameters (relative to height) than many other ''Phyllostachys'' species. The canes turn yellow in full or partial sun, and deepen into a gold-orange color as the plant matures. Branching and foliage tend to start lower to the ground than many other ''Phyllostachys'' species, but some prefer to cut off lower branches to show off the interesting 'tortoise shell' lower part of the canes.

References

External links

Species Profile - Golden Bamboo (''Phyllostachys aurea'')
National Invasive Species Information Center,

United States National Agricultural Library The United States National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a national library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture. Located ...

aurea Aurea, golden in Latin, may refer to: * Aurea (car), a former Italian automobile manufactured in Turin from 1921 to 1930 * Aurea (singer) (born 1987), Portuguese singer * Aurea Alexandrina, a kind of opiate or antidote * Áurea, a municipality ...

Flora of China Plants described in 1878 Garden plants of Asia {{Bamboo-stub