Yellow-Groove Bamboo

Phyllostachya aureosulcata

Poaceae - The Grass Family

▲ mature colony

▲▼ individual clumps, with branching off stems visible below

▲ yellow, grooved stems

▲ leaf blade detail

Phyllostachya aureosulcata:  Yellow Groove Bamboo

Location near campus:  inside wall on the east side, southwest corner and southeast corner of the Japanese Stroll Garden at the Botanical Center

·         Asian warm-season, running (creeping perennial) bamboo that can grow 15-30’ tall

·         Stems emerge yellow-green and turn more yellow with age, maturing to a diameter of ½ to 2” (usually toward the smaller diameter in Missouri)

·         Leaves are short and wide, ½-1” wide and 3-8” long on short branchlets off of main stems

·         Leaf blades are semi-evergreen to evergreen and persist for up to several years

·         Stems are perennial, becoming woody within the first year

·         Plants may take 3-4 years to establish before they begin their rampant spread

·         Yellow groove bamboo spreads by vigorous rhizomes which may grow 10-30’ away from original clump each year after the 3-4 year lag time to become established

·         New shoots appear each spring, growing wider and taller in good spring growing conditions

·         Unwanted shoots are easily mowed down & do not reappear until next spring’s growth flush, but the rhizomes can be covering a very wide area under ground

·         Prefers moist fertile soils, full-sun to part shade; can tolerate drier soils, but with smaller growth

·         Seldom flowers—may take decades—then all flowering stalks will die, but colony does not usually die