PHILIPPINE BAMBOOS 
By WILLIAM H. BRowN AND ARTHUR F. FISCHER 
INTRODUCTION 
The bamboos form a section of the grass family and contain 
the largest known grasses, many of which are of tree size. 
Bamboos, according to form, can be divided into three classes: 
clump-forming erect species; erect ones which send up shoots 
singly from an underground stem; and climbing bamboos. Erect 
clump-forming species are characteristic of tropical countries, 
while those which send up shoots singly are more charac- 
teristic of subtropical or temperate regions. Bamboos are 
the most useful plants for domestic purposes in the Philippine 
Islands. Their most promising possibilities for export are as 
paper pulp, hats, baskets, mats, and matting. 
In the Philippine Islands are found about 30 species of bamboo, 
17 erect and 13 climbing, as follows: 
ERECT CLIMBING 
Arundinaria nutakayamensis Hayata.! Cephalostachyum mindorense Gam- 
Bambusa cornuta Munro. ble. 
Bambusa glaucescens (Willd.) Sieb.| Dinochloa ciliata Kurz. 
Bambusa merrillii Gamble. Dinochloa elmeri Gamble. 
Bambusa spinosa Roxb. Dinochloa luconiae (Munro) Merr. 
Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. Dinochloa pubiramea (Merr.) Gam- 
Bambusa vulgaris striata Gamble. ble. 
Dendrocalamus curranii Gamble. Dinochloa scandens O. Kuntze. 
Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro. Schizostachyum luzonicum Gamble. 
Dendrocalamus merrillianus Elm. Schizostachyum currani Gamble. 
Gigantochloa levis (Blanco) Merr. Schizostachyum dielsianum (Pilger) 
Guadua philippinensis Gamble. Merr. 
Schizostachyum brachycladum Kurz. | Schizostachyum diffusum (Blanco) 
Schizostachyum hirtiflorum Hack. Merr. 
Schizostachyum lima (Blanco) Merr.| Schizostachyum fenixii Gamble. 
Schizostachyum lumampao (Blanco) | Schizostachyum palawanense Gam- 
Merr. ble. 
Schizostachyum textorium (Blanco) | Schizostachyum toppingii Gamble. 
Merr. 

At present the climbing bamboos are of slight commercial 
importance, and are rather a disadvantage than an advantage, 
as they occupy space which might be utilized by more valuable 
plants. They grow at the edge of the forest or in deserted 
caingins,' or in the forest whenever space has been opened up 

*A word used in the Philippines for a clearing made for temporary 
cultivation. 
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