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Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens

Common name:		Family:	Gramineae
Author:	(Carrière.)Rivière.&C.Rivière.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Phyllostachys elegans (McClure.), Bambusa viridi-glaucescens (Carrière.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - E. China in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Habitat:	Woodland on mountains and plains[162].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bambusa viridiglaucescens[G] P. viridi-glaucescens[HORTIPLEX]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bamboo [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	glaucescens = becoming glaucous;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cyperales. Renamed to Poaceae -- Grass family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen bamboo growing to 6m by 7m . 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 0/5 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.

Edible Uses

Stem.

Young shoots - cooked[61, 105, 177]. Virtually free of acridity even when raw[195], they are eaten in salads or added to soups etc[183]. The shoots on mature clumps can be 40mm or more in diameter[K]. Another report says the shoots are acrid when raw. The shoots are harvested in the spring when they are about 8cm above the ground, cutting them about 5cm below soil level.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Plant support.

The canes are used as plant supports etc[61, 195].

Cultivation details

Requires a rich damp soil in a sheltered position[200] and plenty of moisture in the growing season[200].
Plants are very hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -20°c[195], but they dislike prolonged exposure to hard frosts[200].
Plants can reach 10 metres in height in the warmer parts of Britain.
This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Plants only flower at intervals of many years. 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].
A very ornamental plant, it will in time form a clump 7 or more metres in diameter so it is best grown in an isolated position[11].
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[25], it is not too invasive in the cooler British climate[200] but can wander a little. New shoots appear from early April[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. 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.

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.

References for Phyllostachys elegans (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Phyllostachys viridi-glaucescens (a possible synonym).

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[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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