Sasa (plant)

''Sasa'' is a genus of bamboo and part of the grass family (Poaceae). ''Sasa'' are characterized as being dwarf species of bamboo, typically under 2m in height, producing many thin culms from a highly branched and running root stock with only one branch per node. For their size, they have relatively large, wide leaves leading to the common name broadleaf bamboo.

All species are native to Asia, with the majority are native to Japan. Some species of ''Sasa'' have the northern-most distribution of any bamboo species and are native to Sakhalin in the Russian Far East and the nearby Kuril islands.The genus name ''Sasa'' is derived from the Japanese name zasa ( / ) meaning bamboo grass, used to distinguish Sasa from taller bamboo in Japan.

Description

''Sasa'' is a genus of relatively short and shrub-like bamboos that may vigorously spread to form dense, often extensive stands. The rhizomes of ''Sasa'' species are leptomorph (or spreading), with long, running and much branched underground roots. Their culms are tillering, and may grow between 30 cm to 3 m in height, and up to 1 cm in diameter depending on the species. The nodes along culms are prominent in most species but sometimes level and smooth and are without grooves. At the nodes, a single branch is formed, often about the same diameter as the culm. The culm sheaths are papery or even leathery and are very persistent, usually remaining attached to the culm unless removed. The leaves form a palmate arrangement and are generally large compared to most bamboos, in both length and width, and the leaves are very large compared with the size of the culms.

When flowering, the inflorescence is typically in form of a loose panicle containing 4 to 8 florets per spikelet, and 6 stamens and 3 stigmas per floret.

The genus ''Sasa'' was first formally described by the Japanese botanists Tomitaro Makito and Keita Shibata, when it published in Botanical Magazine in 1901.

Distribution and habitat

The genus ''Sasa'' is native to Asia, with the native distribution of the genus extending from Sakhalin and the Kuril islands of Russia to the north, southwards through Japan and Korea, and across the southeast region of China including Guangxi, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Hainan.

''Sasa'' along with the closely related genus ''Sasamorpha'' contain the only species of bamboo native to Russia, with the ''Sasa'' species ''S. cernua'', ''S. kurilensis, S. megaphylla, and'' ''S. senanensis'' (along with ''Sasamorpha borealis'') found the furthest north of any species of bamboo with all the aforementioned species being native to Sakhalin and/or the Kuril islands of the Russian Far East.

The majority of ''Sasa'' species are only native to Japan and are primarily found in the temperate biome; however, some species, such as ''Sasa chartacea,'' native to Hokkaido and Honshu in Japan grow primarily in the subalpine or subarctic biome; whilst a few others, such as ''Sasa hainanensis,'' native to Hainan, China grow primarily in the subtropical biome.

In Japan, ''Sasa'' species are estimated to cover an land area of about 50% in mountainous regions, with such regions making up about 250,000 km² or 70% of the whole land area of the country. In Hallasan National Park in Jeju island, South Korea, ''Sasa palmata'' (known locally as Jeju-Joritdae) covers approximately 76% of the northern slopes of Hallasan, the highest mountain in the country.

Naming

Other than binomial names, in Japan bamboo is also named and classified into traditional groups based on multiple factors other than botany. The genus name ''Sasa'' is derived from the Japanese term zasa (or alternatively sasa) (笹 / ササ) traditionally used to categorize and name some dwarf bamboos. In scientific or academic usage, the Japanese word for all bamboo is ''tāke'' (竹 / たけ), but when used in other contexts, ''tāke'' is used to refer to tall growing types of bamboo, with mosochiku ''( Phyllostachys edulis),'' madake ('' Phyllostachys bambusoides),'' and hachiku (''Phyllostachys nigra'') being popular examples in Japan. In contrast, zasa or sasa (笹 / ササ) meaning 'bamboo grass' is used to refer to short growing species.

The use of zasa or sasa is not only seen in discussing a category of bamboos, but is also a part of traditional Japanese names for most ''Sasa'' species, for example ''Sasa kurilensis'' is known as c''hishima zasa'' (チシマザサ), ''Sasa palmata'' is known as ''chimaki zasa,'' ''Sasa veitchii'' is known as ''kumazasa.''

As the Japanese classification of zasa/sasa or 'bamboo grass' does not strictly follow botanical classification, genera other than ''Sasa'' with a similar habit are also considered to be zasa/sasa, with Japanese names reflecting this, for example '' Pleioblastus viridistriatus'' is known as kamuro zasa; ''Shibataea kumasaca'' (or erroneously ''S. kumasasa''), known as okame zasa (or 'lucky bamboo grass'); and ''Sasaella ramosa'' called azuma zasa.

Species

As of February 2025, Plants of the World Online (POWO) recognize the genus ''Sasa'' to contain 39 accepted species; whilst World Flora Online (WFO) recognize 42 accepted species.

Amongst plant names, the genus ''Sasa'' contains a large number of synonyms; as of February 2025, WFO recognizes 727 names as synonyms at all ranks (92% of all 787 recorded names), and 440 species names as synonyms (90% of all 490 recorded species names).

The following is a list containing a selection of ''Sasa'' species as accepted by authorities at Kew/POWO in May 2025 and their native distributions:
* '' Sasa cernua'' Makino – Japan (northern/central Japan); Russia (Kuril islands, Sakhalin)
* '' Sasa chartacea'' (Makino) Makino & Shibata – Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu)
* '' Sasa elegantissima'' Koidz. – Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu)
* '' Sasa fugeshiensis'' Koidz. – Japan (western Honshu)
* '' Sasa gracillima'' Nakai – Japan (central/southern Honshu, Kyushu)
* '' Sasa hainanensis'' C.D.Chu & C.S.Chao – China (Hainan)
* '' Sasa hayatae'' Makino – Japan (central/southern Japan)
* '' Sasa heterotricha'' Koidz. – Japan (northern/central Honshu)
*'' Sasa hibaconuca'' – northern and central Japan
* '' Sasa jotanii'' (Kenji Inoue & Tanim.) M.Kobay. – Japan (Izu-Shoto)
* '' Sasa kagamiana'' Makino & Uchida – Japan (northern Honshu, Shikoku)
* '' Sasa kurilensis'' (Rupr.) Makino & Shibata – Korea (Utsuryo-to), Russia (Sakhalin, Kuril islands) to Japan (northern/central Japan)
* '' Sasa magnifica'' (Nakai) Sad.Suzuki – Japan (Kyushu (Kumamoto Pref.))
* '' Sasa megalophylla'' Makino & Uchida – Japan; Russia (Sakhalin, Kuril islands)
* '' Sasa miakeana'' Sad.Suzuki – Japan (Honshu and Shikoku)
* '' Sasa minensis'' Sad.Suzuki – Japan (Honshu and Shikoku)
* '' Sasa nipponica'' (Makino) Makino & Shibata – Japan
* '' Sasa occidentalis'' Sad.Suzuki – Japan (Shikoku)
* '' Sasa palmata'' (Burb.) E.G.Camus – Korea, Japan, Russia (Sakhalin)
* '' Sasa pubens'' – Japan (west-central Honshu)
* '' Sasa pubiculmis'' – Japan (Hokkaido, eastern Honshu, and Shikoku)
* '' Sasa pulcherrima'' – central and southern Japan
* '' Sasa rubrovaginata'' – China (Guangxi and Guangdong)
* '' Sasa samaniana'' – Japan (southern Hokkaido and eastern Honshu)
* '' Sasa scytophylla'' – Japan (Honshu and Shikoku)
* '' Sasa senanensis'' (Franch. & Sav.) Rehder – Japan (Hokkaido, northern Honshu, Kuril islands); Russia (Sakhalin, Kuril islands)
* '' Sasa septentrionalis'' – southern Sakhalin and northern and central Japan
* '' Sasa shimidzuana'' – central and southern Japan
* '' Sasa subglabra'' – China (Hong Kong)
* '' Sasa subvillosa'' – Japan (northern and north-central Honshu)
* '' Sasa suzukii'' – Japan (northern and central Honshu)
* '' Sasa takizawana'' – Japan (southern Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku)
* '' Sasa tatewakiana'' – Sakhalin and northern and central Japan
* '' Sasa tenuifolia'' – Japan (southern Honshu)
* '' Sasa tokugawana'' – central and southern Japan
* '' Sasa tsuboiana'' Makino – Korea ''(''Jeju-do); Japan (central + southern Japan)
* '' Sasa tsukubensis'' – Japan
* '' Sasa veitchii'' (Carrière) Rehder – Japan (including Kuril islands); Russia (Sakhalin, Kuril islands)
* '' Sasa yahikoensis'' – Sakhalin to northern and central Japan
The genus '' Sasaella'' derives from the hybridization of species of ''Sasa'' and ''Pleioblastus (''Sasa'' × ''Pleioblastus'').''

Uses

Culinary use

Various species of ''Sasa'' have a long history of culinary use.

The young shoots of some ''Sasa'' species are edible. Sansai (literally translated as 'mountain vegetables') traditionally refers to vegetables that have grown in the wild and then foraged by humans, as opposed to being cultivated or farmed. Young culms of ''Sasa kurilensis'' are known in Japan as c''hishima-zasa'' (チシマザサ) or ''nemagaridake'' and are particularly popular in Hokkaido and other parts of northern Japan.

Not only are the shoots eaten, but ''Sasa'' leaves are used widely in Japan as wrapper to hold rice dumplings or rice cake together, whilst imparting a subtle hint of bamboo flavor to the rice.

Sasazushi (笹寿司), also known as bamboo leaf sushi, is a speciality from the Hokuriku region of Japan, in particular Niigata and the cites of Jōetsu, Itoigawa and Myōkō. Sasazushi is made by placing rice (seasoned with vinegar, sugar and salt) onto a ''Sasa'' bamboo leaf (known as kumazasa or kuma) that grows wild in the region before being topped with a selection of ingredients and condiments. Not only is the bamboo leaf a local, wild plant, other types of sansai (or foraged wild vegetables) are frequently used as toppings, such as Japanese butterbur (fukinoto), fiddleheads of bracken fern (warabi), and other types of fern including zenmai and kogomi.
Chimaki are a type of dumpling from Japan, very similar to the Chinese dumpling zonghi but with different fillings. Chimaki usually consist of a mixture of glutinous rice and other ingredients which are carefully wrapped in a ''Sasa'' bamboo leaf and usually tied with rushes before steaming. Chimaki may be savory, composed of rice, meat and vegetables, or sweet, containing sticky glutinous rice, yokan (sweet red bean gelatin), or kudzu. Chimaki are particularly associated with Akita, Niigata, Yamagata, and the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, with unique local variations. In Akita, sasamaki is prepared in a comparable way but consists of only glutinous rice wrapped in ''Sasa'' leaves, tied with rushes, and steamed reflecting a time when glutinous rice was less abundant and more expensive than Uruchi rice, so it has long been used as a celebratory food.

The desert delicacy sasadango a type of dango originally from the Chuetsu and Shimoetsu regions of Niigata and parts of Aizu region, Fukushima Prefecture. Sweet, glutinous rice flour is flavored with yomogi (a type of mugwort) which are then filled with adzuki (red) bean paste and wrapped in ''Sasa'' leaves and tied up with sedge leaves.

Animal feed

''Sasa'' can be used as a feed for livestock. Various ''Sasa'' species are natural primary forage plants for wildlife, including for example ''Sasa nipponica'' is a core component in the diet of Sika deer on Mount Ohdaigahara, central Japan. Whilst most livestock rearing in Japan happens outside of mountainous regions, due to the mountainous nature of the country and the widespread coverage of these regions by various ''Sasa'' species, along with its evergreen nature make ''Sasa'' a useful feedstock, particularly in the winter months. ''Sasa palmata'' has been shown to be comparable or superior to rice straw as a component of roughage fed to Hanwoo cattle, a Korean native breed.

Textiles

Washi (和紙), literally meaning 'Japanese paper'; is a type of paper that has been made for over 1000 years, traditionally made by hand using fibers from the inner bark of gampi ('' Wikstroemia'' species), mitsumata ('' Edgeworthia chrysantha''), or kōzo

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