896 
is used for covering Burmese cigarettes. This bamboo 
flowers usually sporadically, so that clumps in flower may 
almost always be found; and consequently it has been 
largely and often collected; at the same time, like other 
species, it sometimes flowers gregariously as it is doing 
this year (1894) both in Sikklm and in Dehra Dun. Of its 
straggling habit, so noticeable in the forests of Bengal 
and Burma, but curiously much less so in the Dun, J. W. 
Oliver remarks, 'When they have no trees to support them, 
the main stems bend over, forming impenetrable thickets, 
and the lateral branches ascend vertically often forming 
shoots nearly as long as the main stems.' This species is 
very easily identified by its panicle of bright purple-red 
flowers, and when out of flower the grey stems, long, 
nearly glabrous stem sheaths and straggling habit cause it 
to be easily recognized. The long hairy points to the an- 
thers are also remarkable ." (J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae of 
British India, Annals of the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, 
vol ... 7, p. 85. ) 
Dejidrocalamus strictus (Roxb . )Nees . (Poaceae . )40889 . Seeds 
of a bamboo from Calcutta, India. Presented by Mr. William 
Bembower, Collins, Ohio. "A very useful and strong bamboo 
of India, formerly used universally for spear shafts. The 
plant flowers frequently and does not die down after flow- 
ering as is the case with so many bamboos. The culms are 
said sometimes to reach a height of 100 feet. This is the 
most common and most widely spread and most universally 
used of the Indian bamboos, and is commonly known as the 
'male bamboo.' Its culms are employed by the natives for 
all purposes of building and furniture, for mats, baskets, 
sticks and other purposes. It furnishes, when solid culms 
are procurable, the best material for lance shafts. In 
Burma, when large culms are obtainable, they are much in 
request for mats for native boats. It flowers gregarious- 
ly over large areas, as it did in the Central Provinces in 
1865, but it may be found flowering sporadically, a few 
clumps at a time, almost every year, in any locality, and 
such clumps then usually die off. These flowerings how- 
ever, do not produce as much good seed as when the gregar- 
ious flowering takes place. The flowers appear in the 
cold season between November and April, the seed ripening 
in June. The leaves fall in February or March, and the 
young new ones appear in April. The young culms are 
rather late, usually beginning to appear in July sometime 
after the rains begin. "(J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae of British 
India, Annals of the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, vol. 7, 
p. 79.) 
