''Neololeba atra'', the black bamboo, is a species of

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n, and

Papuasia Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia. It comprises th ...

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 ...

s in the grass family

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

Habit

Black bamboo is a short, small-culmed, green bamboo species 5–7 m high. It forms impenetrable thickets with densely clustered clumps with a large number of closely growing culms. It is native to the

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, and

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. It is an exotic species in

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countries, such as

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and

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Appearance

Culms are dark green when young, and become yellowish-green when mature and brownish-green when dry. Young shoots are also green. Internode length is 60–80 cm and diameter is about 2.5 to 5.0 cm. Culm walls are very thin. Nodes are not prominent. Branching occurs only at the top and no aerial roots can be seen. Culm sheaths are green in young plants, becoming straw-colored when mature. Culm sheath blades are flame-shaped. The sheath proper is 9–12 cm long and 6–9 cm wide. Auricles are equal, small, and wavy, continuous with the blade, which is situated on top of the sheath. Upper surfaces of the culm sheaths are covered with light brown hairs. Under surfaces are not hairy. Sheaths fall off early.

Uses

In Indonesia, strips of the black bamboo are used to make window blinds and the leaves are used for thatching.

References

The Plant List
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15518272 Bambusoideae