Common Name:

General Information

Schizostachyum grande is an evergreen bamboo producing an open clump of culms 3 - 20 metres long from short, woody rhizomes. The thin-walled, woody culms are erect when young, later drooping to the ground or leaning on nearby vegetation; they are 5 - 12cm in diameter with internodes 50 - 90cm long[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - southern Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

A very common gregarious bamboos of open places in foothills of Peninsular Malaysia, at elevations above 400 metres, occasionally to 1,000 metres. Found on forest edges at elevations around 50 metres in the north of its range[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Bamboo
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

The plant is regarded as a weed of overlogged forests in Peninsular Malaysia, where it occurs abundantly, together with Gigantochloa scortechinii and Dendrocalamus pendulus[]. Efforts used to be directed towards eradication of the plants, but at present, the exploitation of these weedy bamboos as material for local cottage industries is being promoted - more successfully for Gigantochloa scortechinii and Dendrocalamus pendulus than for Schizostachyum grande. More research is needed on how to reclaim land in certain areas occupied by Schizostachyum grande[].
A mature clump of Schizostachyum grande contains on average 10 - 25 culms, exceptionally to 60 culms[].
Young shoots and inflorescences are produced all the year round[].
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.

Edible Uses

Young shoots are used as a vegetable and also much liked by orang utans in Sumatra[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The culms are used as frames, for plaiting dish covers and winnowing trays, and as containers to cook glutinous rice ('lemang')[].
As a thin-walled bamboo, the culms could be used to make baskets and other handicrafts[].

The leaves are used as wrappers for a Chinese glutinous rice dumpling[].

Propagation

Seed -

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