Common Name:

General Information

Schizostachyum lima is an evergreen bamboo, forming a dense clump of culms 8 - 13 metres tall from short, woody rhizomes. The erect stems are pendulous at the tip, the thin-walled culms can be 30 - 40cm in diameter, with internodes around 100cm long[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of food and materials. Both the plant and its products are widely traded in local markets, and the planty is often cultivated in New Guinea[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Philippines to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Habitat

Forest, forest margins, along rivers or river banks, or spontaneously on roadsides, wasteland or near villages; at elevations up to 700 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Bamboo
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires relatively moist soil conditions[].
Hardly any information is available on the growth and development of this plant. Three-year-old clumps contain on average 150 culms. Culms have their maximum diameter 2 metres above ground level[].
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.
The sporadic flowering of this species occurs regularly, but gregarious flowering has never been reported[].

Edible Uses

Young shoots - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[, ].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The culm has a rough surface, which is used for smoothing bronze[].

The culms are used as a construction material for housing; they are flattened to use as flooring; they are used to make musical instruments, fishing rods, rice-winnowing baskets, bobbins for weaving looms etc. The culms are split to make material for weaving into bamboo mattings (known as 'sawali') and other woven wares[, ]. It is reported that this bamboo must be boiled before it can be used for making fans, cushions, and hats[]. The long internodes are often used as containers for items such as molasses and tobacco - these are often carved with a beautiful low relief. In New Guinea the culms are often used as walls, sometimes after being flattened and woven into sheets, and also for bow strings[, ].

Propagation

Seed -

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Captcha: if i have 3 bananas, and i eat them all, how many bananas did i just eat?