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Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:15 am
by kudzu9
I got this in a trade 7-8 years ago and it is finally sizing up nicely. I'm in Zone 8, Pacific NW. The person I got it from did not know the species. The new culms are in the 1-1/2" to 2" range, and getting up to about 30'; the culms have no sulcus, and have a white powder ring at the nodes. The culm sheaths fall off pretty quickly.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:31 pm
by needmore
Kudzu, long time no post, good to see you here.

I'm guessing there is a sulcus up higher? The overall form suggests Dulcis to me eyeballs and the shoot does not betray that though other shoots are similar, it is the shorter branches, longer leaves that say Dulcis creating that overall columnar effect - not s ma Phy's do that. Dulcis also seems to sort of twist toward the sun.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 7:34 am
by kudzu9
Brad-
The more I think about it, the more I think you may be right. I have another planting of dulcis in another part of the yard and it didn't dawn on me that they could be the same species because the known dulcis has:
-culms that are not quite as vibrant green.
-culms that tend to shade to tan after a year or two.
-foliage that is more yellowy.

Also, you were right about there being a sulcus higher up on both of these plants, and the node spacing looks pretty similar on both. I think the appearance differences may be due to the known dulcis being in a sunnier location and also having somewhat different soil.

For comparison, here are two shots of my known dulcis (ignore the clumper to the left in the second picture):

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 12:10 pm
by dependable
The shoots, and overall appearance look like what I have that I believe is Vivax. Not that I am second guessing Brad's ID, I guess they are pretty closely related.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:33 pm
by needmore
I agree, the shoots look like Vivax and a bit too dark for Dulcis and they look spot on to my Shanghai 3 & Prominens which are likely either forms of Dulcis or Vivax :drunken:

I'd have guessed Vivax on just the shoots alone but those branches look mighty short for Vivax and they look right for Dulcis.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:27 am
by Glen
Does it have auricles or oral setae on the culm sheaths? I do not see any in the photograph.

Based on what I see in the photographs, and assuming it is a species with which I am familiar, I would pick Phyllostachys vivax. In this case, it should not have oral setae on culm sheaths of shoots that size. It does not look like Phyllostachys dulcis to me, as mine had very prominent auricles and oral setae. I do not like to use color for identification, but my shoots were always very light colored, as is shown on this page, which also shows a good photograph of the oral setae typical of the species:
http://www.bamboogarden.com/Phyllostachys%20dulcis.htm

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:37 am
by kudzu9
Glen-
I don't recall seeing any auricles or oral setae on the culm sheaths, and the culm sheaths have much different coloring than those in the link you provided. Here are some more pictures. The first one is of the unknown bamboo and the second one is my Ph. dulcis:

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:43 am
by kudzu9
And here are some closeups of the leaves. The first one is the unknown and the second one is Ph. dulcis:

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:01 am
by Glen
My Phyllostachys dulcis always produced shoots that looked just like the photographs in the above link. Also, they usually emerged from the ground at funny angles (pointing toward the sun), and the culms were never very straight. As for foliage color, mine was never particularly light colored, but rather an "average" green, for a Phyllostachys. Of course, I fertilize my bamboos regularly, so perhaps they do not have a fair chance to turn yellow.

I would have said that your plant is Phyllostachys bambusoides, based on the shoot photograph. Mine look just like that, but with occasional auricles and oral setae on large shoots (the presence or absence of which I cannot determine from your photograph). However, the white bands on the culms should rule this species out as a possibility.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:13 am
by kudzu9
My dulcis tends to have some curved culms and to lean outward, whereas the unknown bamboo has been putting up rather straight culms. I suppose one of these days I should cut down a culm of the unknown bamboo to see if it is thin-walled like vivax.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:09 pm
by needmore
The more I've learned about the Dulcis/Vivax/S3/? mix ups I'm not sure what I have in the ground as Dulcis in IN. Pretty sure it is not Vivax but I think it is missing oral setae, has short branches and long leaves with sturdier culms.

Re: Which Timber Bamboo Is This?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:19 pm
by kudzu9
Brad-
Have you ever compared the wall thicknesses of your dulcis/vivax? The dulcis is significantly thicker.