BAMBOOS: THEIR CULTURE AXD USES 11 
above with arched tops; internodes short at the base of the culm, longer 
above, where they have distinct channels on the side opposite to those caused 
by the pressure of the branches ; branches solid, usually horizontal, borne in 
pairs ; branchlets small, golden yellow after the first year ; leaves small, 
linear-lanceolate, edges slightly serrated, abruptly contracted into a short 
petiole, pale green, becoming yellowish with age, borne in pairs, rarely in 
threes and fours, at the ends of the branchlets ; culm sheaths quite striking 
in appearance when the shoots appear, thick and covered with brown hairs, 
which are first soft, then harsh and brittle after drying, causing irritation if 
they come in contact with a mucous membrane. At the base of the culms the 
hairs cover the sheaths entirely, but higher up they are not so thick, so that 
through them can be seen the yellowish color of the sheaths with dark-colored 
or black patches, which become more numerous and run together near the 
pseudophyll. The ligule is very small, brown, and fi'inged, and the pseudophyll 
is triangular at the base, 10 to 15 centimeters long on the upper sheaths, 
channeled, and erect. (Pis. V and VI.) 
SMOOTH-SHEATH EDIBLE BAMBOO 
{Phyllostacliys mitis A. and C. Riviere) 
This valuable bamboo is rare in the United States; in fact, it is 
questionable whether it is growing anywhere in this country. It was 
introduced by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction in 
1920 but failed to grow^ Fairchild's (4, p. 27) description of this 
species applies to PhyUostachys edulis^ and the same is true of the 
description given by Makino (P, p. 68). The chief points of differ- 
ence between P. mitis and P. edulis follow : P. viitis^ culms alw^ays 
glabrous or smooth, nearly cylindrical at the base with long inter- 
nodes, culm sheaths smooth, branches hollow, leaves large. P. 
edulis^ culms pubescent or hairy with short internodes, culm sheaths 
tomentose or hairy, branches solid, leaves small. 
The smooth-sheath edible bamboo is one of the largest and most 
hardy in China and Japan. It w^as introduced and has been grown 
for a good many years in the south of Europe and in Algeria, where 
it is highly regarded as a very useful form. Its most important 
characters may be set forth as follows: 
Culms 25 to 50 feet high, 4 to 5 inches in diameter, straight, deep green 
and shiny at first, later becoming bright yellow ; branches numerous, two 
at each node, clothing the entire culm ; leaves variable in size, 1 to 6 inches 
long, lanceolate, tapering to a very fine point and ending at the base in well- 
defined petioles, one edge serrated, showing scattered coarse hairs where the 
blade enters the sheath ; culm sheaths enveloping the culm for the whole of 
its length, smooth, yellowish straw color, spotted with brown or chestnut 
colored patches, more numerous near the top, mouth pro\^ded with a narrow 
fringed ligule, tipped with a pseudophyll variable in size and often variegated 
with yellow or orange stripes. The rhizomes are fairly active, but do not 
spread so rapidly as those of P. hamlusoides, 
VARIEGATED PHYLLOSTACHYS 
{PhyUostachys 'bamhusoides castlllon'i (Marl.) H. de Lehaie) 
This beautiful form of the giant timber bamboo {Phyllostdchys 
hamhus aides) has been introduced a number of times, but it is 
seldom found in cultivation. It has been at the Brooksville garden 
a number of years but never seemed very aggressive and gradually 
died out. Some of the best specimens of the variegated PhyUo- 
stachys at Brooksville have been in clumps of Bambos vulgaris, hav- 
ing probably found their way there when the plants Avere gi'own 
together in the nursery. This variegated form has all the char- 
acters of PhyUostachys hambusoides, of which it is doubtless a sport. 
