Common Name:

General Information

Schizostachyum brachycladum is a clump-forming, perennial, evergreen bamboo. The culms are erect, straight, 10 - 15 metres long and 60 - 80mm in diameter. The internodes have a thin-wall 3 - 5mm thick, are 20 - 50cm long, smooth, cylindrical, and tapering.
An important plant in the local economy, it is collected from the wild and also commonly cultivated in South-East Asia for its culms, which provide material for building, crafts, containers, pipes etc. The forms with yellow culms are often cultivated as ornamentals[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

Disturbed or secondary forest, rarely in undisturbed forest, at elevations up to 600 metres. It is also commonly found spontaneously or naturalized along roadsides and is frequently cultivated in villages[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Bamboo
Height	12.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of lowland tropical areas, where it is found at elevations below 600 metres[].
Succeeds on any kind of soil but does best in a sandy loam[]. Grows well in a well drained sandy clay or sandy loam soil[].
Bamboos have an interesting method of growth. Each plant produces a number of new stems annually - these stems grow to their maximum height in their first year of growth, subsequent growth in the stem being limited to the production of new side branches and leaves. In the case of some mature tropical species the new stem could be as much as 30 metres tall, with daily increases in height of 30cm or more during their peak growth time. This makes them some of the fastest-growing species in the world[].
A mature clump contains about 30 - 50 culms[].
Bamboos in general are usually monocarpic, living for many years before flowering, then flowering and seeding profusely for a period of 1 - 3 years before usually dying. The plant flowers continuously and each mature culm in an established clump bears inflorescences terminating leafy branches[]. Mature fruits are rarely found[]. This species normally retains its vegetative vigour undiminished after flowering[].

Edible Uses

The young shoots are edible, but rather bitter[].

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

Planted on hill slopes to prevent landslides[].

Other Uses

The culms are widely used for purposes such as roofs (split lengthwise as for the Toraja rice barn and traditional house in Sulawesi), water containers, handicrafts, banana props and as a container for cooking glutinous rice ('lemang')[]. The culms are 10 - 15 metres long and 60 - 80mm in diameter with a thin wall that is easily split[].
The internodes are used for making water pipes to smoke tobacco; decorated with a pattern carved in low relief ('serobok'), also for various carved containers, for instance, the one used for holy wine served during the Gawai festival ('Garong basket')[]. The internodes are 20 - 50cm long[].

Clothes have been made from the fibres in the culm[]. The fibres are quite easy to separate from the internodes; they are strong and supple and can be woven into cloth[]. Traditionally, the soft inner part of the culms were chewed and washed to extract the fibres[].

Propagation

Seed - rarely formed[].
Rhizome cuttings, consisting of a rhizome part, roots and a culm part, are the most common method of propagation[]. Cuttings should be planted at the beginning of the rainy season, horizontally and with fresh buds side- ways, about 20 - 30 cm deep[]. The soil should be finely crumbed[]. Recommended spacing is 3 x 3 metres[].
Culm cuttings[].

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