''Bambusa oldhamii'', known as giant timber bamboo or Oldham's bamboo, is a large species of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

. It is the most common and widely grown bamboo in the

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and has been introduced into cultivation around the world. It is densely foliated, growing up to tall in good conditions, and can have a diameter of up to .

Description

''Bambusa oldhamii'' grows to in height, with green culms reaching a maximum of in diameter. Shoots grow rapidly in warmer months. The branches are short and leaves long.

Taxonomy

It was first described by Munro in 1868, the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

collected in Taiwan by Oldham (after whom the species was named). It is grouped in the subgenus ''Dendrocalamopsis''. ''Dendrocalamus latiflorus'' is a misapplied name, under which it has been sold in the United States. It has also been confused with the related species ''B. atrovirens'' of

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

in mainland China.

Distribution and habitat

''B. oldhamii'' is native to the island of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern 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 capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

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Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

). It is widely cultivated and has become naturalized in several places (

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

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, etc.)

Cultivation

It has been introduced into cultivation around the world; it is grown under glass in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and in

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, and

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, where it is the most common clumping bamboo grown. The maximum height in cultivation varies with the temperature. It tolerates temperatures down to -7 °C (20 °F). In

and China, the young shoots of ''B. oldhamii'' are highly sought after due to their crisp texture and sweet taste. Cultivation in Taiwan has declined with many stands of bamboo converted to pineapple production, a number of subsidy and support programs have been established as the cultivated bamboo groves provide valuable wildlife habitat and their destruction challenges the endangered farmland green tree frog. The culms are used for furniture making, but are not suited to construction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bambusa Oldhamii oldhamii Garden plants Endemic flora of China Plants described in 1868