Bambusa oldhamii, known as giant timber bambooorOldham's bamboo, is a large species of bamboo. It is the most common and widely grown bamboo in the United States and has been introduced into cultivation around the world. It is densely foliated, growing up to 20 metres (65 feet) tall in good conditions, and can have a diameter of up to 10 centimetres (4 inches).
Bambusa oldhamii grows to 17–20 m (56–66 ft) in height, with green culms reaching a maximum of 10 cm (4 in) in diameter.[2] Shoots grow rapidly in warmer months. The branches are short and leaves long.[3]
It was first described by Munro in 1868, the type specimen collected in Taiwan by Oldham (after whom the species was named). It is grouped in the subgenus Dendrocalamopsis. Dendrocalamus latiflorus is a misapplied name, under which it has been sold in the United States. It has also been confused with the related species B. atrovirensofZhejiang in mainland China.[2]
InTaiwan and China, the young shootsofB. oldhamii are highly sought after due to their crisp texture and sweet taste.[11] Cultivation in Taiwan has declined with many stands of bamboo converted to pineapple production, a number of subsidy and support programs have been established as the cultivated bamboo groves provide valuable wildlife habitat and their destruction challenges the endangered farmland green tree frog.[12]
The culms are used for furniture making, but are not suited to construction.[3]
^Walker, E.H. (1976). Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu islands: 1-1159. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
^Brako, L. & Zarucchi, J.L. (1993). Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 45: i-xl, 1-1286.
^Jørgensen, P.M. & León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999). Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75: i-viii, 1-1181.
^Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
^Edgar, E & Connor, H.E. (2010). Flora of New Zealand, ed. 2, 5: 1-650. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
^Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
^香筍入菜, 行政院農業委員會, archived from the original on 2016-10-06, retrieved 2015-08-12
