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Drepanostachyum falcatum

Common name:	Ringal	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	(Nees.)Keng.	Botanical references:	11, 51, 200
Synonyms:	Chimonobambusa falcata ((Nees.)Nakai.), Bambusa gracilis (Hort.), Bambusa falcata, Arundinaria falcata (Nees.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Himalayas.
Habitat:	Forms dense thickets in evergreen oak forests that are usually damp, to 3600 metres[11, 51].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Sinarundinaria falcata[G]
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	falcatum = sickle shaped
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen bamboo growing to 3.5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Stem.

Young shoots - cooked[25]. Used as a vegetable[272]. They are also fermented and preserved in Nepal to form a dish called tama[272]. Tama is sour and has a very strong flavour, it is sometimes mixed in vegetable curries[272].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Basketry Soil stabilization Weaving.

The canes are used for making hats, baskets, rods etc[46, 51, 61, 272]. The culms are not very straight, and they have rather swollen nodes, which make them not very suitable as a weaving material[220]. Nevertheless, they are still widely used for this purpose in the Himalayas[220]. They are also used in construction[195]. They are about 2cm in diameter[220].
The plant is used as a very effective soil stabilizer in Nepal[220].

Cultivation details

Prefers an open loam of reasonable quality and plenty of moisture in the growing season[1]. Requires a sheltered position[25].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is only reliably hardy in the milder areas of Britain[1, 11, 25, 162], tolerating temperatures down to about -6° c. In most parts of the country it is best grown in a conservatory.
This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Plants flower quite frequently in Britain and often produce viable seed[11]. When they do come into flower most of the plants energies are directed into producing seed and consequently the plant is severely weakened. They sometimes die after flowering, but if left alone they will usually recover though they will look very poorly for a few years. If fed with artificial NPK fertilizers at this time the plants are more likely to die[122].
The rootstock is caespitose, new shoots are produced from late May[25].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse at about 20° c. Do not allow the compost to dry out. Germination usually takes place fairly quickly so long as the seed is of good quality, though it can take 3 - 6 months. Grow on in a lightly shaded place in the greenhouse until large enough to plant out. Seed is rarely available.
Division in spring as new growth commences. Take divisions with at least three canes in the clump, trying to cause as little root disturbance to the main plant as possible. Grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse in pots of a high fertility sandy medium. Mist the foliage regularly until plants are established. Plant them out into their permanent positions when a good root system has developed, which can take a year or more[200].
Basal cane cuttings.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[25] Lawson. Bamboos. Faber 1968
Fairly comprehensive, it was once the standard work but is now rather dated. Deals with species hardy in Britain, giving cultivation details and some uses.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[122] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 1. 1979 - 1980. Royal Horticultural Society 1979
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants. A good article on the flowering of bamboos.

[162] Grounds. R. Ornamental Grasses. Christopher Helm 1989 ISBN 0-7470-1219-9
Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.

[195] Farrelly. D. The Book of Bamboo Sierra Club. 1984 ISBN 0-87156-825-X
Very readable, giving lots of information on the uses of bamboos, both temperate and tropical.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[220] Stapleton. C. Bamboos of Nepal The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1994 ISBN 0947643680
An excelllent little booklet that looks in some detail at the native bamboos of Nepal, including looking at their uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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