Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Giant Timber Bamboo - Phyllostachys bambusoides   Siebold & Zuccarini
Members of Poaceae:
Members of Phyllostachys with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Order Cyperales » Family Poaceae
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AuthorSiebold & Zuccarini
DistributionOnly known as an escape from two counties: Iredell and Orange. A collection from Ashe County was from cultivated plants. A population of 1000+ culms was found in the Piedmont of Moore County in 2021. It is tentatively placed here, although it does not key cleanly in Weakley and does not fit all characters as given in FNA. Nor does it fit all characters of P. heterocycla, another giant bamboo. Its ID awaits further study.

Native of China; in N.A. apparently widely cultivated but seldom escaped.
AbundanceApparently very rare.
HabitatEdge of woods at end of Chase Road (edge of UNC campus, Chapel Hill). The Iredell County collections were in 1944 and other label data were not provided online.
PhenologySeldom flowers and fruits in NC.
IdentificationAs its common name suggests, this species is a true giant among grasses -- old culms typically reach 4-5 inches diameter and 50-60 feet tall. See Weakley (2020) for identification separation from P. heterocycla, another giant bamboo.
Taxonomic CommentsNone.

Other Common Name(s)
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
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USACE-agcp
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B.A. SorrieSame data. MoorePhoto_non_natural
B.A. SorrieRobbins, large stand between water plant building and Bear Creek, Sept 2021. MoorePhoto_non_natural
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