Bambusa. 73 



young, changing into a yellowish hue, and finally be- 

 coming of a straw-yellow when fully grown. The leaves 

 are lance-shaped acute, light green, and are distinguished 

 from those of B. viridi-glaucescens by having their under 

 surface less glaucescent, and the sheath always devoid of 

 the long silky hairs. The preliminary remarks on culture, 

 etc., will apply to all the species here described. 



*Bambusa edulis. — A hardy and vigorous kind, with 

 very elegant light-green shoots and olive-green stems, 

 attaining a height of 10 ft. in the neighbourhood of Paris. 

 The leaves are small, and the plant is not nearly so 

 branching as in some other kinds. 



*Bambusa falcata (Arundinaria fa/cata). — A very 

 ornamental species from Nepaul and the Himalayas, and 

 at present the only kind of bamboo much planted with us. 

 It grows from 7 ft. to 20 ft. high, and has woody, twisted, 

 smooth stems of a yellowish-green or straw-colour, knotty, 

 bearing on one side of each of the knots a bundle of 

 small branches equally knotty and twisted. The whole 

 plant has a pale yellowish hue, except in the young spike- 

 lets and sheaths, which are occasionally purplish. The 

 leaves are of a fine delicate green, from 4 ins. to 6 ins. 

 long, ribbon-like, linear-acute, sickle-shaped, in two 

 rows, short-stalked, and sheathing. It is hardy over the 

 greater part of England and Ireland, but only attains 

 full development in the south and west. I have seen 

 it attain great luxuriance in Devon, and nearly 20 ft. 

 high near Cork, though in many districts it is stunted. 

 It loves a deep, sandy, and rich soil, and plenty of 

 moisture when growing fast. 



*Bambusa Fortunei. — A pretty dwarf variegated 



