Moso bamboo is a giant running bamboo from China and Taiwan, typically 33–66 ft (10–20 m) tall, with the largest near 92 ft (28 m); a new shoot can grow up to 47 in (119 cm) in a single day. It is not native to the United States. In China it is the main bamboo used for bamboo textiles, and its species name edulis means "edible," for its shoots.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Very tall, thick green culms, typically 33–66 ft (10–20 m) tall and 3–8 in (8–20 cm) thick. Each node shows one clear ring, and the gaps between nodes are fairly short.
- Growth form
- A running bamboo: it spreads through underground and sends up new culms, forming dense groves. Seedlings start out tiny, often no taller than about 4 in (10 cm).
- Flowers
- Flowers only rarely, roughly once every several decades, and patchily rather than all at once.
Look-alikes
Giant timber bambooPhyllostachys reticulata
Moso shows a single clear ring at each node; giant timber bamboo shows two rings and has longer gaps between nodes. Its culm sheaths are hairless with dark brown spots.
Why they get mixed upBoth are tall, thick-stemmed running bamboos.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- bamboo groves
- forest edges
- farmland edges
- Range
- Native to China and Taiwan. It has been planted and gone wild in other countries, including across most of Japan. In the US it is non-native; one weed reference lists it as naturalized in the southeastern states.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- After flowering and setting seed, a grove dies back down to the rhizomes.
Growing it
- Propagation
- Mostly spreads by rhizomes. When it does flower, it can drop huge numbers of seeds that sprout quickly, though rodents eat many of them.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Older books often call it Phyllostachys pubescens or P. heterocycla.
- Varieties and forms
- 'Kikko' (tortoise-shell bamboo) has crooked, slanted nodes that make the lower culm look like a turtle shell. 'Bicolor' has yellow-striped culms.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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