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Phyllostachys bambusoides

Common name:	Madake	Family:	Gramineae
Author:	Siebold.&Zucc.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Phyllostachys reticulata (non Rupr.), Phyllostachys quilioi ((Carrière.)Rivière.&C.Rivière.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan.
Habitat:	Woodland and especially on lower cleared slopes[162].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. bambusoides var. castillonis[G] P. castillonis[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Japanese Timber Bamboo [P,B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen bamboo growing to 8m by 8m . It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. 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, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Cultivar 'Castillon': Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Stem.

Young shoots - cooked as a vegetable[25, 46, 105]. Large but somewhat acrid when raw[61], they require boiling in a lot of water or in several changes of water[183]. The shoots are harvested in the spring when they are about 8cm above the ground, cutting them about 5cm below soil level. The shoots contain about 2.1% protein, 0.3% fat, 3.2% carbohydrate, 0.9% ash[179].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antipyretic.

The leaves are antipyretic[218].
New shoots are used in the treatment of haematuria[218].

Other Uses

Soil stabilization; Wood.

The plant has an extensive root system and is used for erosion control.
The stems are used for making furniture, plant supports etc[46, 61, 74]. Fairly thick walled, the canes are considered to be the most versatile of this genus and are used in construction and other industrial uses[195]. Even the dead culms are durable[195].

Cultivation details

Requires a rich loamy soil and plenty of moisture in the growing season[1] plus a sheltered position[200].
A very hardy plant[11, 25], tolerating temperatures down to about -18°c, but it dislikes prolonged exposure to hard frosts[200].
Plants can reach 25 metres in height in their native habitat, they are much smaller in Britain but, even so, a height of 12 metres has been recorded in &ndndndnd.
Cultivated for its edible shoots in China[183], it is the most widely grown bamboo in Japan for its useful canes[195]. It has been widely planted for ornament in the Mediterranean and is becoming naturalized there[50]. There are some named forms selected for their ornamental value[200]. 'Castillon' has smaller culms than the species type, the edible shoots are less bitter[195]. A plant of this cultivar at Trebah gardens in &ndndndnd was growing well in woodland shade, it was 5 metres tall with canes 20mm in diameter[K].
This is a good companion species to grow in a woodland because the plants are shallow rooted and do not compete with deep rooted trees[195].
The rootstock is running but not aggressively so, especially in the cooler climate of Britain[25]. New shoots are produced from late May[25]. Individual stems can be long lived, staying leafy for up to 20 years[195].
This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Plants only flower at intervals of several years, viable seed is usually produced[122]. When they do come into flower most of the plants energies are directed into producing seed and consequently the plant is severely weakened. They usually die after flowering, but if left alone they will sometimes 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].

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. Divisions from the open ground do not transplant well, so will need careful treatment and nurturing under cover in pots until at least late spring[238]. Division is best carried out in wet weather and small divisions will establish better than large clumps[238]. Another report says that you can take large divisions from established clumps and transfer them straight to their permanent positions, misting or drenching them frequently until they are established[200].
Basal cane cuttings in spring.

Cultivars

'Castillon': This cultivar has smaller culms than the species type, the edible shoots are less bitter[195]. A plant of this cultivar at Trebah gardens in &ndndndnd was growing well in woodland shade, it was 5 metres tall with canes 20mm in diameter[K].

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.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants 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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. 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.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

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