124 MACMILLAN : FLOWERING OF DENDROCALAMUS 



In regard to the Giant bamboo {Dendrocalamtis giganteus), 

 this species has now been in a condition of flowering here for 

 the last eight years, and elsewhere in Ceylon at different 

 elevations for a longer period. The first case of flowering 

 in Ceylon was not at Peradeniya (elevation 1,500 feet), but 

 on Abbotsford estate at about 5,000 feet elevation. That 

 occurred about 1886 (approximately thirty years after the 

 introduction of the plant at Peradeniya), when Mr. A. M. 

 Ferguson, the proprietor, sent specimens to Dr. Trimen, then 

 Director at Peradeniya. This coincides very closely with the 

 period taken by the Giant bamboo to flower at the Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Calcutta, after its first introduction. 



It may be interesting here to note the history of the intro- 

 duction of this noble bamboo into Ceylon. The plant is a 

 native of moist forests of Lower Burma, and was introduced 

 from Penang to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Calcutta in 

 1831. From there Peradeniya obtained it in 1856, and all the 

 clumps now in Peradeniya Gardens, if not. in Ceylon, have 

 been derived by division from this source. The clumps at 

 Peradeniya, especially those near the river or in moist situ- 

 ations, have grown to enormous sizes, much exceeding, it is 

 said, the dimensions normally attained by them in their 

 native habitat, and these majestic growths have formed a 

 feature of Peradeniya Gardens for many years past. Some 

 of the clumps are 150 feet or more in circumference, the stems 

 reaching a height of 120 feet each, being about 10 inches in 

 diameter at the base. At Calcutta it flowered for the first 

 time in 1861, exactly thirty years after its introduction; at 

 Abbotsford the recorded flowering was, as stated, about 1886," 

 twenty-nine years after the introduction of the plant at Pera- 

 deniya. It is interesting to note here that on the authority of 

 Mr. John Fraser, the present manager of Abbotsford estate, 

 the same bamboo which flowered about twenty years ago is 

 still alive and in a condition of mixed flowering. 



The first signs of flowering in Peradeniya Gardens were 

 noticed in January, 1903, when three or four stems in each 

 of three clumps were in blossom. Each year since has in 

 most cases produced a greater number of flowering stems, 



