PH YLLOST ACH YS 151 



plumose masses of foliage, which make the outer stems arch outward ; stems 

 bright green at first, very hollow. Leaves rather uniform in size, and from 

 2 to 3^ ins. long and to in. wide, tapering at the base to a well-developed 

 stalk J in. long, slender-pointed ; dark lustrous green above, glaucous and 

 downy at the base of the midrib beneath ; secondary veins four to seven. 



Native of Japan ; introduced about 1890. In the richness of its verdure 

 combined with a remarkable elegance of form this bamboo is probably the 

 loveliest of all its kind. From about 1894 to 1900 it made perhaps the most 

 delightful feature of many gardens from October to January. In 1900 it 

 commenced to flower all over the country, and by 1905 nearly every specimen 

 was either dead or very severely crippled. A proportion of them recovered, 

 and from these as well as from plants imported afresh from Japan, it is now 

 getting re-established in gardens. In its floral characters P. Henonis differs 

 but little from P. nigra. According to a Japanese botanist it is the same as 

 Bambusa puberula, Miguel. 



The bamboo known as P. BORYANA, Mitford (Bambusa Boryana, Marliac), 

 which flowered in this country in 1905, is a near ally of P. Henonis, and of 

 about equal beauty. Very few plants of it now exist. 



P. FULVA, Mitford, appears also to belong to P. Henonis, differing chiefly 

 in the yellow colour of the stems which is developed the second year. 



P. MITIS, Riviere. 



(Bambusa mitis, Hort. Moso-chiku of the Japanese.) 



Stems reaching sometimes nearly 20 ft. high in this country and bent 

 somewhat stiffly, i^ ins. in diameter, deep yellow when mature. Leaves 

 2 to 5 ins. long, 4 to f in. wide, tapering or rounded at the base, slender- 

 pointed, dark green above, glaucous beneath, smooth except at the base of 

 the midrib beneath, and toothed especially on one margin ; stalk \ in. or 

 less long ; leaf-sheath with a tuft of bristles at each side near the top ; 

 secondary nerves three to six each side the midrib. 



Native of Japan ; introduced about 1890. In foliage it resembles P. aurea, 

 under which the distinctions are pointed out. It requires a sheltered spot 

 and abundant sunshine to develop its best qualities, and does not recover 

 from injury by cold so rapidly as P. aurea. The stems are never truly erect, 

 but are bowed, with usually also an inclination to twist. The stems when 

 young grow with great rapidity, sometimes nearly I foot in twenty-four hours 

 in this country more in hotter ones. They are the stoutest among our 

 hardy bamboos. In Japan the young shoots are cooked and eaten ; according 

 to Lord Redesdale they are flavourless, but have a crisp and pleasant 

 consistency. 



The curious so-called "Tortoise-shell" bamboo P. HETEROCYCLA, 

 Carriers is considered to be a variety of P. mitis. It is distinguished by 

 the joints of the stems near the base not circling them in the ordinary way, 

 but taking diagonal directions, the normal space between the joints being sup- 

 pressed at each side alternately. Thus the scars join at opposite sides 

 alternately for I or 2 ft. up the stem, when it assumes its normal form and 

 the scars become horizontal rings. The plant is not well adopted for this 

 country, and I have never seen a single characteristic stem produced here. 

 The popular name of Japanese origin refers to the humped appearance of 

 the space between the joints. This distortion is a freak of nature, and is not, 

 as was once believed, due to the handiwork of Japanese gardeners. Intro- 

 duced from Japan to* France about 1877, and to England in 1893. 



P. SULPHUREA, Riviere, has yellow stems scarcely so robust as typical 

 P. mitis, but otherwise almost identical. In my experience it is more tender 



