BAMBUSE& 247 



TRIBE XIII. BAMBUSE^E 



270. This tribe includes the bamboos. These are 

 nearly all perennial, woody, often tree-like grasses, mostly 

 of wet tropical regions. The culms in the larger species 

 are as much as a foot in diameter and over 100 feet in 

 height. The common economic species of the tropics, 

 such as Bambos Bambos (L.) Wight (Bambusa vulgaris 

 Wendl.), have large hollow culms, with hard partitions 

 at each node. The wood is exceedingly hard and dense. 

 The hollow joints are used as utensils and the culms for a 

 great variety of purposes. There are, especially in the 

 American tropics, several climbing species. The young 

 shoots of the large erect species of bamboos are covered 

 with large deciduous scales. The shoots grow to a con- 

 siderable height before branching and producing the 

 ordinary foliage. Several species of bamboos are cultiva- 

 ted in the United States (Par. 89). The commonest are 

 Arundinaria japonica Sieb. & Zucc., and several species of 

 Phyllostachys. The latter genus may be distinguished by 

 the internodes, flattened on one side. The species of 

 Phyllostachys seldom flower in cultivation. The spikelets 

 of Arundinaria japonica are large and several-flowered. 

 The only bamboo native in the United States is the wild 

 cane (Arundinaria macrosperma Michx.) (Fig. 63), found 

 in our southern states where it often forms large masses 

 called cane-brakes. A small form of this or possibly a 

 distinct species, A. tecta Muhl., is called small cane or 

 scutch cane. 



The floral characters of the bamboos are of little importance 

 to students, as the cultivated forms do not often flower. The critical 

 study of the group is too technical for any but the expert. The 

 structure of the spikelets is, however, comparatively simple. They 





