Arundinaria graminea (Bean) Makino, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Arundinaria hindsii var. graminea Bean; Pleioblastus gramineus (Bean) Nakai

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bamboo

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Culms erect, straight, 3-5 m tall, 0.5-2 cm in diameter, glabrous; internodes 10-25 cm long; nodes rather prominent; branches usually 2-3 per node at first, then numerous in clusters in age.  Culm-sheaths deciduous, coriaceous sparsely hairy or nearly glabrous, densely fimbriate along the margins;  sheath-auricles inconspicuous; sheath-ligule conspicuous, rounded; sheath-blade linear or broadly linear, acute, glabrous, entire.  Leaves 5-11, narrowly lanceolate or broadly linear, 10-30 cm long, 5-17 mm broad, sharply tapered at apex, cuneate at base, densely spinulose-scabrous along one margin, sparsely so or entire along the other, veins 2-4, veinlets 5, tessellate; petioles 1-2 mm long; leaf-auricles inconspicuous; leaf-ligule convex, rounded, toothed; leaf-sheaths 2.5-4 cm long, glabrous.  Spikelets broadly linear, 4-8 cm long, 5-8 mm in diameter; glumes 2, ovate-lanceolate; lemmas similar to glumes, but broader, 8-12 mm long, 3.5-5 mm wide, veins 11, margins entire; paleas 7-10 mm long, bilobed at apex, veins 2 between the keels and 2 between each keel and edge, densely hairy on the keels; gynoecium 4.5 mm long; ovary vase-shaped, 2 mm long, glabrous, with 3 vascular strands seen in cross-section; style short, ending in 3 feathery stigmas; stamens 3, filaments long, anthers 6.5 mm long; lodicules 3, ovate-oblong, 2.5 mm long, hairy along upper margins.  Fruit fusiform, 7-8 mm long, dark brown" (Li et al., 1976; pp. 713, 715).

"Rhizomes short; culms in tufts, erect, 3-5 m long, 5-20 mm in diameter; culm-sheaths at first sparsely setose, soon glabrate; branches with densely arranged branchlets; prophylla short, ascending-hirsute; leaves 4-6, the blades narrowly lanceolate to linear, 10-30 cm long, 8-20 mm wide, caudately acuminate; leaf-sheaths glabrous, usually without oral bristles; spikelets 1-3, 3-5 cm long, less than 10-flowered; lemma about 10 mm long; palea hirsute with spreading hairs on the keels" (Ohwi, 1965; pp. 137-138).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  "One of the few hardy bamboos that love the shade. A fairly rapid rambler, not recommended for smaller gardens without barriers to contain its vitality" (Farrelly, 1984; pp. 161-162).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Native to mainland China and the Ryukyus. Introduced to Taiwan where it is commonly planted for ornamental purposes (Li et al., 1976; pp. 713, 715).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2011) Naturalized
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007) As Pleioblastus gramineus (Bean) Nakai

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Li, Hui-lin/Liu, Tang-shui/Huang, Tseng-chieng/Koyama, Tetsuo/DeVol, Charles E., eds. (1978) (p. 715)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 323) Ornamental.
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	Li, Hui-lin/Liu, Tang-shui/Huang, Tseng-chieng/Koyama, Tetsuo/DeVol, Charles E., eds. (1978) (p. 715)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced cultivated	Li, Hui-lin/Liu, Tang-shui/Huang, Tseng-chieng/Koyama, Tetsuo/DeVol, Charles E., eds. (1978) (p. 715)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Arundinaria graminea is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Arundinaria graminea as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Arundinaria graminea may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Farrelly, David. 1984. The book of bamboo. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

Li, Hui-lin/Liu, Tang-shui/Huang, Tseng-chieng/Koyama, Tetsuo/DeVol, Charles E., eds. 1978. Flora of Taiwan, Volume 5. Epoch Pub. Co., Taipei. 1166 pp.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (in English). Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.