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Ornamental - It is used in gardens with suitable climates for its attractive culms and foliage. Fodder - The leaves are used as fodder. Wood - Construction: The culms are utilized for small-scale construction, such as making baskets and racks. Additionally, it is used for screen planting in wet areas (Huxley, 1992; Seethalakshmi and Muktesh Kumar, 2002).
Bhutan, China, India, Nepal
It grows in the lower Himalayan foothills and moist valleys, particularly along streams (at altitude up to 2000 m asl).
Its name reflects the distinctive spathe-like appearance of its flowers. Suitable for creating hedges.
It is an evergreen bamboo reaching up to 6 m tall, and clump-forming.
Stems (culms) are erect, smooth, and green when young. They mature to a yellow or brown color and develop vertical grooves with age. The branching pattern is clump-forming, with new shoots arising from the base of the plant.
Leaves are lanceolate (narrowly elliptical) and arranged alternately along the stems. They are typically 5-12 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, with a glossy green upper surface and a slightly paler green underside. The margins are smooth, and the leaf base is rounded or slightly clasping the stem.
Flowers are inconspicuous and rarely seen as flowering events can occur every 3 to 7 years. They are small, greenish-white, and borne in clusters (panicles) at the nodes of older culms. Each flower has three sepals and three petals. Flowering typically occurs every few years, but not annually.
Fruit is a small, elongated grain (caryopsis) produced after successful pollination. It's about 5-7 mm long and brown when mature. Fruits are usually enclosed within persistent glumes (modified leaves) that detach when ripe.
Flowering: April
Fruiting: January