Common Name:

General Information

Schizostachyum iraten is an evergreen bamboo, forming a dense clump of culms 6 - 10 metres tall from short, woody rhizomes. The erect, thin-walled, woody culms are drooping at the tips; they are 2 - 5cm in diameter with internodes 70 - 120cm long[].
The culms are harvested from the wild for local use as a source of materials. They are sometimes traded locally[].
The future of Schizostachyum iraten is in danger. In Java, its occurrence in the wild is threatened with extinction and germplasm collection is urgently needed[]. The plant has not yet been evaluated in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Indonesia.

Habitat

Scrub vegetation, disturbed forest, village groves, and secondary hill forest, nearly always occurring as scattered specimens; at elevations up to 600 metres[].

Properties

Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Bamboo
Height	8.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A 3-year-old clump in East Java contained 40 culms, however, a mature clump may contain up to 100 culms[].
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[].
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.
A mature clump in the botanical garden in Bogor produces young shoots and flowers all the year round[].
Pseudospikelets fall off as soon as they reach maturity, therefore mature fruits have rarely been found. In Peninsular Malaysia, Schizostachyum iraten has never been found flowering[].
This species is closely related to Schizostachyum lima and Schizostachyum jaculans[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The culms are used for fishing rods and to make blowpipes and flutes[].

Propagation

Seed -

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