Appearance
''Bambusa vulgaris'' forms moderately loose clumps and has no thorns. It has lemon-yellow culms with green stripes and dark green leaves. Stems are not straight, not easy to split, inflexible, thick-walled, and initially strong. The densely tufted culms grow 10–20 metres high and 4–10 centimetres thick.Culms are basally straight or flexuose , drooping at the tips. Culm walls are slightly thick.
Nodes are slightly inflated. Internodes are 20–45 centimetres . Several branches develop from mid-culm nodes and above. Culm leaves are deciduous with dense pubescence. Leaf blades are narrowly lanceolate.
Flowering is not common, and there are no seeds. Fruits are rare due to low pollen viability caused by irregular meiosis. At the interval of several decades the whole population of an area bloom at once, and individual stems bear a large number of flowers. Vegetation propagates through clump division, by rhizome, stem and branch cutting, layering and marcotting. The easiest and most practised cultivation method is culm or branch cutting. In the Philippines, the best results were obtained from one-node cuttings from the lower parts of six-month-old culms. When a stem dies, the clump usually survives. A clump can grow out of stem used for poles, fences, props, stakes or posts. Its rhizomes extend up to 80 cm before turning upward to create open fast-spreading clumps. The easy propagation of ''B. vulgaris'' explains its seemingly wild occurrence.
The average chemical composition is cellulose 41–44%, pentosans 21–23%, lignin 26–28%, ash 1.7–1.9%, and silica 0.6–0.7%.
Naming
''B. vulgaris'' is also known as Bambu Ampel , Buloh Aur, Buloh Pau, Buloh Minyak, Aur Beting , Mai-Luang, Phai-Luang , Daisan-Chiku , Murangi , Gemeiner Bambus , Bambou de Chine , Bambu Vulgar , and Mwanzi . ''B. vulgaris var. Striata'' is also known as Buloh Gadling, Aur Gadling, Buloh Kuning , Bambu Kuning , Kinshi-Chiku or Golden Common Bamboo. ''B. vulgaris f. Waminii'' is also known as Wa-Min , Bambu Blenduk or Wamin Bamboo. Kimmei is also known as Kimmei-Daisan-Chiku in Japanese.It is widely used as an ornamental plant, and is very popular as that. It often is planted as fences and border hedges. It is also planted a measure for erosion control.Distribution
Common bamboo is the most widely grown bamboo throughout the tropics and subtropics. Although mostly known only from cultivation, spontaneous , escaped, and naturalized populations exist throughout the tropics and sub-tropics in and outside Asia. ''B. vulgaris'' is widely cultivated in East, Southeast and South Asia, as well as tropical Africa including Madagascar. It is highly concentrated in the Indo-Malayan rainforests. The species is one of the most successful bamboos in Pakistan, Tanzania, and Brazil.Popular as a hothouse plant by the 1700s, it was one of the earliest bamboo species introduced into Europe. It is believed to have been introduced to Hawaii in the time of Captain James Cook , and is the most popular ornamental plant there. ''B. vulgaris'' is widely cultivated in the USA and Puerto Rico, apparently since introduction by Spaniards in 1840. It may have been the first foreign species introduced into the United States by Europeans.
Habitat
Common bamboo is the most widely grown bamboo throughout the tropics and subtropics. Although mostly known only from cultivation, spontaneous , escaped, and naturalized populations exist throughout the tropics and sub-tropics in and outside Asia. ''B. vulgaris'' is widely cultivated in East, Southeast and South Asia, as well as tropical Africa including Madagascar. It is highly concentrated in the Indo-Malayan rainforests. The species is one of the most successful bamboos in Pakistan, Tanzania, and Brazil.Popular as a hothouse plant by the 1700s, it was one of the earliest bamboo species introduced into Europe. It is believed to have been introduced to Hawaii in the time of Captain James Cook , and is the most popular ornamental plant there. ''B. vulgaris'' is widely cultivated in the USA and Puerto Rico, apparently since introduction by Spaniards in 1840. It may have been the first foreign species introduced into the United States by Europeans.''B. vulgaris'' grows mostly on river banks, road sides, wastelands, and open ground, generally in the low altitudes. It is a preferred species for erosion control. It grows best under humid conditions, but can tolerate unfavorable conditions like low temperatures and drought. Though adoptable to a wide range of soils, the common bamboo grows more vigorously on moist soils. It can tolerate frost up to −3 °C , and can grow on ground up to 1,500 metres , though in higher altitudes stems grow shorter and thinner. In extreme droughts it may defoliate completely.
Food
Young shoots of the plant, cooked or pickled, are edible and eaten throughout Asia. Yellow shoots remain buttercup yellow after cooking. A decoction of the growing tips is mixed with Job's Tears to make a refreshing drink in Mauritius. The shoots are tender and whitish pink, and have a fair canning quality.100 grams of young shoots of green stem cultivars have 90 grams of water, 2.6 grams of protein, 4.1 grams of fat, 0.4 grams of digestable carbohydrates, 1.1 grams of insoluble fibre, 22.8 micrograms of calcium, 37 micrograms of phosphorus, 1.1 micrograms of iron, and 3.1 micrograms of ascorbic acid. 100 grams of young shoots of yellow stem cultivars have 88 grams of water, 1.8 grams of protein, 7.2 grams of fat, 0.0 grams of digestible carbohydrates, 1.2 grams of insoluble fibre, 28.6 micrograms of calcium, 27.5 micrograms of phosphorus, and 1.4 micrograms of iron.
Predators
There are two major threats to the species. Small Bamboo Borers as adults bore stems in India, China, Philippines, Australia and Japan. Bamboo Weevils destroy shoots during their larval stage in South China. Other threats include leaf blight , basal culm rot , culm sheath rot , leaf rust , and leaf spots . In Bangladesh, bamboo blight caused by ''Sarocladium oryzae'' is a serious disease.Defense
Among all bamboos only shoots of ''B. vulgaris'' contains taxiphyllin that functions as an enzyme inhibitor in the human body when released, but degrades readily in boiling water. It is highly toxic, and the lethal dose for humans is about 50–60 mg. A dose of 25 mg cyanogenic glycoside fed to rats caused clinical signs of toxicity, including apnoea, ataxia and paresis. Horses in Pará, Brazil were diagnosed with clinical signs of somnolence and severe ataxia after ingesting ''B. vulgaris''. Farmers in Africa sometimes prefer to buy it rather than planting it, as they believe it harms the soil.Uses
''Bambusa vulgaris'' has a wide variety of uses, including the stems used as fuel and the leaves used as fodder, though a large amount of ingestion of leaves is known to cause neurological disorder among horses. The worldwide production and trade of ''B. vulgaris'' is considerable, though no statistics is available. It also has some disadvantages. Working and machining properties of the stems are poor, as they are not straight, not easy to split, and not flexible. But, they are thick walled and initially strong. Because of high carbohydrate content stems are susceptible to attacks from fungi and insects like powderpost beetle. Protection from biological threats is essential for long time use.''B. vulgaris var. Striata'' is used as ornamental solitary or as border hedge. Its shoots boiled in water is sometimes used for medicinal qualities. Cultivated around the world it is generally found in East, South East and South Asia. ''B. vulgaris f. Waminii'' is cultivated in the USA and Europe in addition to cultivation in Asia. ''B. vulgaris f. Vittata'' is the most popular variety as an ornamental plant, also considered to be very beautiful. Kimmei is mostly cultivated in Japan.
References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
