Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

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Garfster
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Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by Garfster »

Hi All,

I've been lurking in the shadows for long enough and have decided to make the leap to my first post :D

I have an unknown Phyllostachys which has decided to flower this year and I'd quite like to know exactly what it is. I've only had it about 3 years, last year saw quite an upscale in both height (from around 3m to 5m) and in culm size.

The older culms seem to develop a yellow vertical striping after the first year or 2 which is quite nice. Newer culms also have a nice purple tinge to them.

If any extra info or photos would help, I'll do my best!

Cheers,
Gary
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New culm from last year
New culm from last year
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Coloured culms
Nicholas
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by Nicholas »

Hi Gary,

I'd say you are probably looking at Phyllostachys praecox (Violascens?) since it has been flowering for a few years and would roughly fit the description you have given.
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by johnw »

Gary - A good close-up shot of that new shoot would help in identifying your Phyllo.

john
johnw coastal Nova Scotia
Garfster
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by Garfster »

Thanks guys - I did wonder about praecox / violascens due to the striping.

This is the best image I have at the moment of the new culm from last year - there are a couple of new ones just starting this year, but seem much smaller presumably due to the flowering.

Thanks again,
Gary
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ShmuBamboo
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by ShmuBamboo »

Lots of Phyllos have a purple tinge to the new culms, like Nuda and Bory. I doubt that is phy. violascens, as there is not enough striping or color to it. It looks almost like Phy. iridescens, but the striping in them tend to be more pronounced than the ones in these photos. I do not know of any iridescens or violascens flowering globally at this time, and mine are not doing that here. Early global bamboo species flowering is more sporadic, and after a few years becomes more prevalent. I have seen that with my Phy. glauca 'Yunzhu', which started flowering for me 3 years ago, and it in full bloom now. That species is reported to be flowering many places worldwide now, so we can assume that that species is indeed in worldwide bloom. Bamboos can and do flower due to local stresses, and some people have reported Phy. nigras flowering in a few places, but it does not seem to be a global event. Some bamboo species like Moso tend to flower sporadically, randomly and in different locations continuously. Hence the prevalence of lots of Moso seeds being available, and the many different types of cultivars grown from seeds.
Happy trails...
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by Nicholas »

ShmuBamboo wrote:. I doubt that is phy. violascens, as there is not enough striping or color to it.
I will have to disagree with you on this. I've seen a great picture of different culms from violascens on the net which I unfortunately can't seem to find again.
The spectrum ranges from almost no striping to heavy striping. Also the brown/purple coloration of stripes varies (not only with light I presume).

Here is Vaupel's description (german) of Violascens http://www.bambus-lexikon.de/phyllostac ... cens0.html

To me there are many similarities in the shown bamboo and his pictures of it.
Garfster
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by Garfster »

A few more photos if they're any help - the culms are green for the first year, then the striping shows up from the 2nd/3rd year onward and looks really quite nice. Hopefully might help to finally identify this once and for all!
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needmore
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by needmore »

I like Praecox as a suspect.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by fredgpops »

violacens very doubtful - new and mature plants have violet hairs at the base of leaves. New plants have violet branches for 3 or 4 months. I've never seen shiny green areas on new culms. No sign of flowering on my plants but may be a different strain. Have not heard of flowering anywhere on the west coast. Interesting photos on this sites photo section. I've never seen anything resembling the photos from Europe. I have not seen striation on my plants like some photos posted. Rgds
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Re: Flowering Phyllostachys I.D?

Post by Nicholas »

needmore wrote:I like Praecox as a suspect.
praecox / violascens seems the most likely to me.

a) Several forms of praecox are flowering (I've wanted to buy praecox viridisulcata but it was not sold to me for exactly this reason)
b) Violet colouration of new culms on light-exposed areas that fades and faint yellow striping in older culms.
c) Shoots fit the general appearance of praecox
d) Kinks in lower internodes
e) Pretty common in Europe

To me the only other close candidate is iridescens but given the many reports of flowerings with praecox I am inclined to say it probably is just that.
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