Some characteristics of the main genera
Arundinaria
Persistent pale sheaths on green culms. Coloured young shoots. Medium to large leaves on plentiful, upright canes.
Bashania
Culms and leaves usually pale, grey-silver and upright. Deep rooted and evenly spreading. Ideal for getting lost in.
Borinda
Almost identical to Thamnocalamus apart from the extremely hairy culm sheaths.
Chimonobambusa
Early Winter, as well as Spring shooting. New culms often marbled, naked in the first year apart from some congested foliage at the tips. Usually short to medium, delicate leafy growth on thin flexible culms, (apart from C. quadrangularis which is bolt upright and very inflexible - there's always one!)
Chusquea
Solid culms, almost leafless in the first year. Clustered branches in a ring around the nodes with dense, spiky looking foliage. Pale, persistent sheaths last well into
the second year.
Clavinodum
Thin, arching culms, dark coloured. Large leaves for the size of the plant. Very rare.
Fargesia
Finely leafed Bamboos with thin, flexible and plentiful culms. Very strongly clump forming. Some species with leafless culms in the first year and persistent sheaths. New shoots are often early and colourful.
X Hibanobambusa
Hairy leaf sheaths. Long, broad, leathery
leaves with hairs at base. Good straight culms, fresh green. Culm sheaths are not persistent. Intermediate in habit between Phyllostachys and Sasa. (A good choice for those who
can't choose between large or small leaves).
Indocalamus
Thin culms with large leaves (often very). Not as rampant as Sasa, with less Winter leaf bleaching. Usually short(ish) in height and dense in foliage.
Phyllostachys
Each culm has a sulcus (groove) on one side
between nodes, alternating on opposite sides of the culm. Most produce very strong, tall and thick canes when mature. Cane colours exceed the limitations of the rainbow.
Pleioblastus
Persistent, leathery culm sheaths. Short forms provide excellent ground cover. Upright, tall forms are very distinct with rounded canes and fresh greenery. Essentially grown for foliage. Massive variation within the genus.
Pseudosasa
Tall, bare culms with very persistent sheaths. Branches at the top half of the canes hold the fresh, medium large, leathery foliage very gracefully. Seriously architectural.
Sasa
Persistent dry, papery culm sheaths. A single branch per node. Leaf margins often attractively bleached in
Winter. Likes to go about from place to place aimlessly. (The
Concise Oxford Dictionary - Ninth Edition, definition of 'Wander
of').
Sasaella
As above, except more than one branch per node.
(You can yawn if you get as far as here!)
Semiarundinaria
Faintly developed sulcus (groove) on lower internodes. Hairy outer culm sheaths, smooth and pink on the inside. Good for canes and foliage. Please note: do not
let the neighbours hear you discussing the hairy culm sheaths.
Shibataea
Usually short and broad leaves, often with unique
tip bleaching in Winter. Short, thin, zig-zag culms.
Thamnocalamus
Small, thin, leaves, often glaucous, on relatively
thick culms. Faint swellings on internodes, (not visible but
can be felt ~ preferably not in front of the neighbours). Clump
forming. Usually deep rooted. Very airy and graceful. T. tessellatus
is the odd one out and tries to be like a Chusquea.
Yushania
Long, thin green leaves on tall, flexible culms.
Evenly spreading habit. Culms bloomy when young with persistent
sheaths. Most are fountain like in habit.
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