Bambusa. 75 



kinds enumerated, though no doubt it will be found to 

 thrive in the milder southern districts; or it may be 

 found useful if grown in the conservatory in winter and 

 placed out in the open air in summer, as is sometimes 

 done with B. arundinacea, which otherwise could not 

 possibly be seen out of doors in our climate. Panicle 

 simple, erect, close; spikes long, imbricated. Leaves 

 rather large, lance-shaped, striated, clasping the stem, 

 which is woody and tapering ; nodes rather distant, and 

 not very prominent. 



*Bambusa nigra. A rather compact-growing Chinese 

 kind, with nearly solid stems, and thinner leaves than 

 those of any other species. The stems are smooth and 

 bushy, about 7 ft. high, of a light green, dotted and striped 

 with purple when young, changing to a glistening black 

 when fully grown ; they branch very much at the top, 

 and sometimes from the base up. The leaves are oval- 

 oblong, acute, shortly-stalked, with a hard, dry, persist- 

 ent sheath; their tender green colour contrasting finely 

 with the blackish hue of the stems. It is best planted as 

 isolated specimens near the margins of shrubberies, or 

 on slopes in the pleasure-ground in warm, sunny, and 

 sheltered positions, in deep, sandy, and well-drained soil. 



*Bambusa Quilioi. A Japanese species of vigorous 

 growth, with robust green stems and bright-green leaves, 

 polished above and slightly mealy beneath, the ligule 

 bearing a little bundle of brownish-grey hairs at the top. 

 This kind I first saw in the gardens of the Acclimatisa- 

 tion Society at Paris, where it was thriving vigorously, 

 and I have little doubt of its proving valuable in Britain. 



*Bambusa Simonii. A handsome, distinct, and 



