''Fargesia robusta'' is a species of clumping bamboo in the family

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

, native to Sichuan, China. Typically but reaching , and with a narrow growth form, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

as an ornamental. A number of cultivars are commercially available, including 'Campbell', 'Pingwu' ( is derived from 'Pingwu'), 'Wenchuan', and 'Wolong'. It is a food source for

giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...

s but grows at too low an elevation for them to exploit, unless there has been a die-off of their usual species. It is a member of the ''

Fargesia spathacea ''Fargesia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family. These bamboos are native primarily to China, with a few species in Vietnam and in the eastern Himalayas. Some species are cultivated as ornamentals, with common names including umb ...

'' species complex, and may not be a distinct species.

References

robusta ROBUSTA (Radiation on Bipolar for University Satellite Test Application) is a nano-satellite scientific experiment developed by the University of Montpellier students as part of a Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) call for student projects ...

Endemic flora of China Flora of South-Central China Plants described in 1985 {{Bamboo-stub