sandiegozoo.org

Fernleaf BambooBambusa multiplex ‘Fernleaf’

A non-invasive clumping bamboo, it grows to approximately 10 to 15 feet. A very attractive bamboo, its uniquely delicate leaves are fern-like in appearance. It is appreciated as an impressive soft screen or as a hedge and can be sheared as such.

In areas where deer are a nuisance to plants, this species is preferred as a short, thick, deer-resistant hedge.FU

NFA

CT

Silverstripe BambooBambusa multiplex ‘Silverstripe’

A classic multiplex in its leaf structure, the name ‘Silverstripe’ refers to the silverish-white striping on the leaf. Sometimes, only an occasional single stripe can be found on the culm.

Most smaller Bambusa multiplex make good container plants, if circumstances are suitable. They also can be grown as indoor plants with correct lighting.FU

NFA

CT

Chocolate BambooBorinda fungosa

Considered an open clumper, this bamboo is one of the most dramatic of all weeping-form bamboos. It can reach a height of approximately 20 feet. A native of Yunnan, China at elevations between 6,000 to 9,000 feet.

When exposed to sufficient sunlight the culm turns a reddish-brown; hence, the common name ‘chocolate bamboo’. The culm strips are also used for weaving.FU

NFA

CT

10 Alphonse Karr BambooBambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’

Native to China, this species is also known as ‘Cheena Bata’ (Chinese bamboo) in Sri Lanka. It makes an excellent ornamental and container plant. The juvenile, magenta-colored culms distinguishes it from other Bambusa multiplex variants.

This plant is named after Jean-Baptist Alphonse Karr, a French horticulturist, critic, journalist, novelist, and pamphleteer of the 19th century.FU

NFA

CT

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Mei Nung BambooDendrocalamus latiflorus cv.‘Mei Nung’

This large Taiwanese bamboo grows to approximately 65 feet with culm diameters of 8 inches. It’s a clumping bamboo with lime-green culms and dark-green stripes. Emerging shoots are edible. It is found naturally growing from Taiwan into southern China.

All bamboos are a type of grass belonging to the family Poaceae, which also includes rice, wheat, and sugar cane.FU

NFA

CT

14

Striped Running Timber BambooPhyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon’

Native throughout Asia, this is one of the least invasive species of running bamboo. An attractive ornamental with smooth, yellow culms, it has dark green stripes in a groove, called a sulcus, along the culm’s length.

A sulcus is the groove a bud produces by pushing into the soft, new culm as the plant elongates in height. This is a prominent feature of the Phyllostachys genus.FU

NFA

CT

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BambooMade possible through the generosity of

The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation

Umbrella BambooFargesia murieliae

Damp, cool forest woodlands are where this spectacular ornamental bamboo thrives. Its range is from East Asia to Central China, West Sichuan, Guizhu, and Shaanxi Provinces at elevations up to 10,000 feet. This species is important panda food in China.

In the United States, this species is grown as an ornamental. In Asia, it is harvested for paper and food, and the culms are sometimes used to make farming tools.FU

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Black BambooPhyllostachys nigra

This popular and attractive type of bamboo grows in many forms, varying in size and coloration. Some are less invasive than other running bamboos. It is excellent in a contained environment, in a garden, or as a potted plant. This special bamboo ranges across eastern and central Asia.

After being introduced into the southeast United States, this genus was used by Thomas Edison to start his light bulb factory by using filaments produced from pieces of the culm.

FUN

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Rough BambooDendrocalamus asper

This giant, tropical/subtropical bamboo, native to Southeast Asia and India, can grow to 100 feet tall with culms 8 to 10 inches in diameter. The emerging shoots are favored as an edible vegetable, while mature culms are used as cooking vessels, musical instruments, beehives, and other useful items.

Bamboo may be the fastest growing plant on Earth. One species has been reported to grow up to 35 inches per day—that’s about 1.5 inches per hour.FU

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Beechy BambooBambusa beecheyana

Another native of the Guandong Province in southern China. Its variable, arching pattern reaches up to 50 feet with a culm diameter of about 5 inches. Maturing culms usually have a white powder on them, and tender young shoots are eaten by animals and humans.

This species has a lower water requirement than most other types of bamboo, making it a good choice for water-wise landscaping.FU

NFA

CT

Buddha Belly BambooBambusa ventricosa

This bamboo is native to Vietnam, Guangdong Province in southern China, and along the coast of southern China. Often used in bonsai, its attractiveness is in the swollen nodes and dark green culms. It is also a natural browse or food source for livestock.

The characteristically swollen nodes—induced by stress or breeding—earn it the common name Buddha belly bamboo. Without the mutation, this plant grows upright and tall, and is then known as common bamboo.

FUN

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Arrow BambooPseudosasa japonica

Also known as metake, this species was introduced into France from its native Japan in the 1850s. In the 1860s, it made its way to the United States—one of the first ornamental Asian bamboos to be grown here. Less aggressive than other running bamboos, this type makes a good background screen or container plant.

Japanese Samurai honed their skills by using this species of bamboo for arrows due to its stiffness and straightness.FU

NFA

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Silver Stripe Blowgun BambooBambusa dolichomerithalla

Native to Taiwan, this clumping bamboo is characterized by growing in a tight bunch, with dark-green culms marked by silver-white stripes. The arching 35- to 40-inch culms make this an excellent choice as a privacy screen plant.

The straighter culms have been used as blowpipes, and others are used as cooking vessels. FUN

FAC

TBig-leaved BambooIndocalamus tessellatus

The dark-green, oblong leaves of this species are the largest of the bamboos. They can measure up to 25 inches long and 5 inches wide, yet it only reaches heights of 4 to 7 feet. It is a small running bamboo native to the Yangtze River, China.

The large leaves of this plant are used for steaming and wrapping food in Asian cuisine.FU

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4 7

2 5 8

3 6 9

Match the numbers to the plant ID signs. The tour begins in the Lost Forest near tigers, continues past

the hippos, then up Park Way towards pandas.

Painted BambooBambusa vulgaris ‘Vittata’

With its vibrant colors, this large, tropical bamboo is especially prized as an ornamental in its native China. Although its emerging shoots have a high cyanide content, they are still consumed after being boiled—the boiled water is then used medicinally.

In biology, vitatta is the Latin term used to describe a stripe or band of color.FU

NFA

CT

1

sandiegozoo.org

Fernleaf BambooBambusa multiplex ‘Fernleaf’

A non-invasive clumping bamboo, it grows to approximately 10 to 15 feet. A very attractive bamboo, its uniquely delicate leaves are fern-like in appearance. It is appreciated as an impressive soft screen or as a hedge and can be sheared as such.

In areas where deer are a nuisance to plants, this species is preferred as a short, thick, deer-resistant hedge.FUN

FAC

T

Silverstripe BambooBambusa multiplex ‘Silverstripe’

A classic multiplex in its leaf structure, the name ‘Silverstripe’ refers to the silverish-white striping on the leaf. Sometimes, only an occasional single stripe can be found on the culm.

Most smaller Bambusa multiplex make good container plants, if circumstances are suitable. They also can be grown as indoor plants with correct lighting.FU

NFA

CT

Chocolate BambooBorinda fungosa

Considered an open clumper, this bamboo is one of the most dramatic of all weeping-form bamboos. It can reach a height of approximately 20 feet. A native of Yunnan, China at elevations between 6,000 to 9,000 feet.

When exposed to sufficient sunlight the culm turns a reddish-brown; hence, the common name ‘chocolate bamboo’. The culm strips are also used for weaving.FU

NFA

CT

10 Alphonse Karr BambooBambusa multiplex ‘Alphonse Karr’

Native to China, this species is also known as ‘Cheena Bata’ (Chinese bamboo) in Sri Lanka. It makes an excellent ornamental and container plant. The juvenile, magenta-colored culms distinguishes it from other Bambusa multiplex variants.

This plant is named after Jean-Baptist Alphonse Karr, a French horticulturist, critic, journalist, novelist, and pamphleteer of the 19th century.FU

NFA

CT

13

Mei Nung BambooDendrocalamus latiflorus cv.‘Mei Nung’

This large Taiwanese bamboo grows to approximately 65 feet with culm diameters of 8 inches. It’s a clumping bamboo with lime-green culms and dark-green stripes. Emerging shoots are edible. It is found naturally growing from Taiwan into southern China.

All bamboos are a type of grass belonging to the family Poaceae, which also includes rice, wheat, and sugar cane.FU

NFA

CT

14

Striped Running Timber BambooPhyllostachys bambusoides ‘Castillon’

Native throughout Asia, this is one of the least invasive species of running bamboo. An attractive ornamental with smooth, yellow culms, it has dark green stripes in a groove, called a sulcus, along the culm’s length.

A sulcus is the groove a bud produces by pushing into the soft, new culm as the plant elongates in height. This is a prominent feature of the Phyllostachys genus.FU

NFA

CT

15

11

12

BambooMade possible through the generosity of

The Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Memorial Foundation