Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd.) Munro, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Bambusa nigra Lodd. ex Lindl.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: zi zhu

English: black bamboo

French: bambou noir

Spanish: bambú negro

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Large perennials; culms green, woody, up to 80 dm tall, 3 cm in diameter, smooth to ribbed-striate, glabrous, internodes 7.5-20 (-32) cm long at base, fringed by a dense ring of purplish to brown hairs just above the node, nodal ridges moderately prominent, sheath scars as prominent as the nodal ridges, thin, flared, glabrous, but usually fringed with brown hairs; sheaths greenish brown to pale brown or pale reddish brown, usually sparsely pubescent with spreading, brown, erect hairs, margins overlapping, ciliate, auriculate, sheath blades broadly to narrowly triangular, boat-shaped, wavy, increasingly so in larger culms, appressed to lower sheaths, spreading away from culm in the upper ones; ligule 1-2 mm long, chartaceous, margins rounded to truncate, erose; blades commonly up to 9 (-13) cm long, up to 1.5 (-2) cm wide, usually glabrous or nearly so, rarely the lower surface sparsely to densely pilose.  Inflorescences racemose, enclosed within numerous bracts on short branches; spikelets enclosed in a narrowly ovate, glabrous, many-nerved, ciliate-margined bract, linear, up to 30 mm long, chartaceous to indurate, florets 2, first floret perfect, sessile, second floret sterile, pedicellate; glumes chartaceous, linear to narrowly ovate, 15-230 mm long, scabrous toward base, becoming more densely pilose toward summit, many-nerved, rounded on the back, apex acuminate, awned, the awn 1-1.5 mm long; first lemma chartaceous, linear, 2.7-3 mm long, evenly appressed pubescent, evenly to densely long-pilose toward summit, many-nerved, rounded on the back near base, keeled toward apex, apex long-acuminate, awned; first palea narrowly ovate, ca. 1.3 mm long, longitudinally grooved on abaxial margin where it comes in contact with the sterile, pedicellate floret, many-nerved, densely appressed pilose, margins inrolled slightly, apex long-acuminate, minutely bifid.  Caryopsis not seen"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1582).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "spreading by rhizomes and forming extensive, dense stands on moist, shaded slopes and stream banks, 0-400 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1582); "occurs in extensive monotypic infestations in moist to wet areas.  Displaces native vegetation; virtually no other plants grow within black bamboo groves"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

Propagation:  Rhizomes, discarded cuttings.

Native range:  China

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	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2011) (p. 9) var. henionis (Mitford) Stapf ex Rendle. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H110816 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2011) (p. 9) var. henionis (Mitford) Stapf ex Rendle. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H10901 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1582) var. henionis (Mitford) Stapf ex Rendle. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H10901 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1582) var. henionis (Mitford) Stapf ex Rendle. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H10901 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1582) var. henionis (Mitford) Stapf ex Rendle. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H10901 (BISH, PTBG). Voucher cited: Landgraf 2 (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 123)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 123)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 344) Ornamental.
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (pp. 28-29) "River banks, plantations".

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/±envahissant"

Comments:  Other species of Phyllostachys should also be avoided.

Control: 

Physical:  "Does not invade grazed land, because cattle will graze the invading bamboo shoots, but animals cannot clear established stands.  Difficult to control.  Heavy equipment subject to damage by bamboo stems piercing radiators and hoses"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

Chemical: "Plant is sensitive to hexazinone and imazapyr and moderately sensitive to glyphosate. Foliar application difficult on tall plants. Most effective treatment requires mechanical clearing followed by herbicide treatment of re-sprouts. J. De Frank (Univ. Hawaii) recommended glyphosate plus fluazifop or imazapyr. Basal stem application of imazapyr looks promising" (Motooka et al., 2003).

Additional information:
Excerpt from the book "Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide" (Motooka et al., 2003). (PDF format).
Additional information at the Environment Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, web site of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Information from the publication "Nonnative invasive plants of Southern forests: A field guide for identification and control".

Additional online information about Phyllostachys nigra is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

References:

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Edgar, E./Connor, H. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, vol. V: Gramineae. Manaaki Whenua Press. .

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

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

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

Miller, James H. 2003. Nonnative invasive plants of Southern forests: A field guide for identification and control. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-62. 93 p.

Motooka, Philip/Castro, Luisa/Nelson, Duane/Nagai, Guy/Ching, Lincoln. 2003. Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 184 pp.

Motooka, Philip/Ching, Lincoln/Nagai, Guy. 2002. Herbicidal Weed Control Methods for Pasture and Natural Areas of Hawaii. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai‘i. CTAHR free publication WC-8.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2011. New Hawaiian plant records for 2009. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2009-2010. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 110:5-10.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

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.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).