Another update:
aurea continues to flower.
Flowering seen all over top half of North island.
Not all groves are flowering.
Some groves not flowering a month ago are doing so now.
Groves which are flowering are starting to die.

Just an update, there are about 10 aura clumps growing by the side of the motorway south of Auckland, and most of them are in full flowering mode. I have also spotted other clumps around the city which are flowering now. It seems to be speeding up.

Hi Tarzanus,
Yep I'm sure it's plain old aurea. Here are some photos one of my clients sent me, but I have since seen the same thing in a number of other locations.

Hi all,
I have noticed Phyllostachys aurea flowering in about 5 sites around Auckland New Zealand. Anyone else noticed anything around the world?
Thanks, Mark Mortimer
www.bambusero.co.nz

I have to harvest a load of P. nigra Henonis for a job. But here in New Zealand, the Henonis is about to shoot. With clumpers, just before shooting is the worst time to harvest as the culms are at their highest concentration of starch and sugars, which makes them more susceptible to insect infestati...

Hi.
It looks very much like Bambusa vulgaris Vittata, a very striking bamboo.
Mark

Hi Paul, I can't help you with the species (I doubt anyone could with your sample) but I can with the finish. It has been heated, probably with a blowtorch, possibly over a fire. Ay first a resin will exude from the surface which you can wipe off with a cloth then keep heating for a darker colour if...

Thanks Tarzanus and Nicholas and others who replied. I'm beginning to think along the same lines, that it might be a strange mutation of the Nigra family, mainly due to the shoot appearance. But it's notable that it is so very different to others and all the canes in the grove are all the same. What...

Hi there, thanks for your replies. I use Henonis all the time as I harvest it for making fences. And I'm certain that it's not Henonis. It doesn't have the whitish bloom on the culm surface. If you look at the photos the surface is a dark green. (there is a photo of many culms which is misleading: t...

I hope it's ok to put up so many photos but I find the more the easier it is to ID.

even more

More photos

Hi everyone. I have some photos here of a grove in Auckland I can't identify. Can anyone help? Other than the photos there are a few other characteristics which are pertinent: The maximum diameter of the culms is around 70mm (nearly 3") Average height of culms around 12m (36') The culm surface ...

We have two clumps here, one which seems to be normal Bambusa textilis and one which may be textilis Gracilis. Does anyone know how to tell them apart?
Thanks,
Mark

Hi Chris,
Are you suggesting that it's not Falconeri and is planatus?
Thanks