BAMBUSA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



BAMBUSA. 



457 



though it should have a place in a collec- 

 tion. The stems in the third summer are 

 about 3 ft. high, but will probably grow 

 higher ; round, much branched ; ap- 

 parently, therefore, it is an Aruiidinaria. 

 The leaves are about 6 in. long, dark 

 green, but rather shabbily mottled on both 

 surfaces, serrated on one edge and slightly 

 so on the other ; leaf-sheaths hairy at top. 

 The branches, which are long in propor- 

 tion to the length of the stems, from which 

 they stand out rather markedly, give the 

 plant a conspicuous habit. 



Phyllostachys heterocycla.— This is 

 called by the Japanese Kiko-chiku, or the 

 *' tortoise-shell Bamboo," from the curious 

 arrangement of the alternately and par- 

 tially suppressed internodes at the base 

 of the stem, which sheathe it in plate 

 armour like the scales on a tortoise's back. 

 At about 2 ft. or 3 ft. from the ground the 

 nodes are regularly defined, as in other 

 Bamboos. The other characteristics of 

 this Bamboo do not differ from those of 

 the Phyllostaches of the iiiiiis and aiirea 

 group. The leaves are from 3 in. to 4 in. 

 long and about half an inch wide, very 

 minutely serrated on one edge and almost 

 imperceptibly so on the other, bright 

 green on the upper surface, bluer under- 

 neath. The imported stems are about 

 5 in. round, and the plant has the appear- 

 ance of growing into a large and impor- 

 tant Bamboo. 



P. Marliacea. — A rare, handsome 

 species. The only plant of it I possess 

 has in its third year grown to a height of 

 8 ft., and promises to become very tall and 

 vigorous. The stem is a dark green, 

 shining like enamel ; the internodes at 

 the base are very close together, not more 

 than i^ in. to 2 in. Its habit is very 

 graceful, the culms forming the most 

 elegant arches, beautiful both in form and 

 colour. 



P. fastuosa. — This very stately and 

 beautiful plant stands out quite conspicu- 

 ously among its fellows. The leaves are 

 from 5 in. to 7 in. long by three-quarters 

 of an inch to i in. in width, tapering to a 

 sharp point, and markedly constricted at 

 about an inch from the end, which has the 

 appearance of a little tongue. Their 

 colour is bright green on the upper 

 surface and very glaucous underneath. 

 This Bamboo will probably prove to be 

 one of the most valuable of the group. 

 Tall, spreading, gracefully plumed with 

 foliage which for richness and beauty of 

 colour is without a rival, it cannot fail to 

 make a striking feature in the wild garden. 



P. aurea. — The distinctive name atirea 

 is not very happily chosen, for there is 



nothing golden about the plant unless it 

 be the yellow stems, and these are not 

 peculiar to the variety named. At Shrub- 

 land Park, PhyllostacJiys aitrca is 14 ft. 6 

 in. high, the canes being 2| in. round. 



P. mitis.— This is the tallest, and in 

 that respect the noblest, of all the Bam- 

 boos capable of being cultivated in this 

 country. At Shrubland the culms of 

 plants imported seven years ago are 

 19 ft. 5 in. high and 4;^ in. in circum- 

 ference. In China and Japan it grows to 

 60 ft. high. The stems, some of which 

 spring out of the ground like spears, are, 

 when fully developed, beautifully arched. 

 The young shoots, when once they 

 start, are very rapid, growing in this 

 country as much as 6 in. in the twenty-four 

 hours. 



P. sulphurea. — A handsome golden- 

 stemmed Bamboo, which in appearance 

 has great affinity with P. mitis. It is per- 

 fectly hardy and well worth cultivating, 

 but difficult to obtain. At Shrubland it 

 is growing to a height of 13 ft., with a 

 circumference of 2| in. round the stem. 



P. Quilioi. — A very distinct Bamboo, 

 introduced from the north of Japan. To 

 me it appears to have a character alto- 

 gether its own, and the many botanists 

 and gardeners to whom I have shown it 

 have without exception come round to my 

 opinion. Altogether a notable Bamboo, 

 growing at Shrubland to a height of 18 ft. 

 6 in., the canes having a circumference 

 of 3I in. Syn. PhyllostacJiys Mazeli. 



P. viridi-glaucescens. —A most elegant 

 and graceful Bamboo, growing to a great 

 height — nearly 18 ft. at Shrubland. The 

 root-stock is very active, the plant being 

 a great runner, while many of the culms 

 come almost horizontallyout of theground, 

 giving the plant a very wide spread. The 

 leaves are generally about 3 in. or 4 in. 

 long and about three-quarters of an mch 

 across. The stem is much zigzagged. 

 This is a perfectly hardy Bamboo, but it 

 should be established in pots before 

 planting out. 



P. violescens. — This is sometimes said 

 to be a variety of P. viridi-glaucescens, 

 but quite different both in appearance and 

 behaviour. It is somewhat more tender, 

 the leaves being apt to be cut by frost, 

 which gives the plant an ugly appearance 

 in winter, but with the spring the culms 

 are clothed with new foliage, and after all 

 it is only those shoots which come into 

 existence in the late autumn which suffer. 

 The foliage is rather darker and larger 

 than in P. viridi-glaucescens and the 

 plant more straggling, the rhizomes run- 

 ning rampantly. But the most distinctive 



