''Schizostachyum glaucifolium'', common name Polynesian ohe, is a 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 ...

Distribution

This species is native to the South-Central Pacific, from the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...

and

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

, as well as in the Southwestern Pacific in the

Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands () are an archipelago covering in the central Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Political geography, Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Samoa, Indep ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.

Habitat

This species prefers tropical or subtropical climates.Bambooland
/ref> It can be found mainly along the banks of rivers and streams and on hillsides, at an elevation of above sea level.

Description

''Schizostachyum glaucifolium'' can reach a typical height of and a culm diameter of . This evergreen clump-forming bamboo shows thin walls, long internodes and yellow woody culms with green stripes.Useful tropical plants
/ref>

Human culture

These bamboos have been used in by ancient Polynesians in present day

and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

for its many uses (baskets, mats, musical instruments, small containers, fishing rods, etc.).

Samoans Samoans or Samoan people () are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent S ...

consider its (known as ''ʻofe'' in Samoan) shoots as a sign of misfortune and doom.

Importance

On the French Polynesian island of Mo'orea, thickets of these bamboo are likely the exclusive breeding habitat of the

Moorea reed warbler Moorea reed warbler (''Acrocephalus longirostris'') is a species of songbird in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. Formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage (Sylviidae), it is now in the newly recognized marsh warbler family Acrocephalidae. ...

. Development, overharvesting, and the invasive

Miconia ''Miconia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the glory bush family, Melastomataceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species are mostly shrubs and small to medium-sized trees up to 15 m tall. The generic name ...

have severely depleted these thickets, and the warbler is now

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

Distribution

Habitat

Description

Human culture

Importance

See also

References

Further reading