32 JAPANESE BAMBOOS. 



stems of this species. River banks and the margins of ponds and 

 canals are eminently suited to its growth, and the overflowed lands 

 of the Colorado River in Arizona might be planted to advantage 

 with this species. This bamboo is one of the few that has flowered 

 and fruited in Europe. According to Mr. Mitford, specimens in the 

 Bois de Bologne in Paris, and simultaneously all over France and in 

 Algiers, bloomed and produced fruit in 1867 or 1868. 



Arundinaria Simoni, A. & C. Riviere. 



(Japanese name: "Narihiradake.") 



This species is easily distinguished by its broad, persistent sheaths 

 of a plain straw color that fall off only after the culms have attained 

 maturity. (PI. V, tig. 1.) It is the tallest of the hardy arundinarias 

 which are grown in England, the culms attaining a height of 18 feet 

 and a diameter of an inch. The shoots appear from midsummer until 

 late in the autumn, and Mr. Mitford remarks that many do not mature 

 sufficiently to stand the English winters. The sheaths nearest the 

 ground are short, though long enough to overlap the internodes, but 

 those of the upper joints, although 8 to 10 inches long, do not exceed 

 the internodes in length. They are at first of a line green color, shad- 

 ing into purple, which soon fades, however, to a dull yellow. These 

 prominent sheaths, which are thick, stiff, and beautifully glazed on 

 the side next the culm, will easily distinguish this arundinaria from 

 any other common Japanese form. The species has flowered and 

 fruited in England, and it is quite universally grown in English 

 gardens. A long description of it is given by Mr. Mitford in "The 

 Bamboo Garden.' 1 



Arundinaria Hindsii, Munro. 



(Japanese name: "Kanzan-chiku.") 



The Kanzan-chiku is a very common garden plant about Tokyo, and 

 clumps of it are to be found in many of the farmyards in central 

 Japan, where the culms grow to a height of IS feet and attain a diam- 

 eter of over 1^ inches. This species forms pretty clumps, with a fine 

 grass-like foliage, and although little farm use is made of it, it is 

 worth}- of trial as an ornamental. Its hardiness has not been demon- 

 strated in England, but it seems likely to prove as hardy as forms like 

 P. mitis. It is distinguished from the preceding arundinarias by its 

 long, narrow leaves, sometimes !» inches by live-eighths of an inch, 

 according to Mr. Mitford. The sheath is provided with a reddish 

 margin toward the tip. 



