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Rhizome neck 4-6 cm. Culms 2-8 m, 0.5-3 cm in diam.; internodes 12-40 cm, cylindrical, glabrous, initially slightly white-waxy, very smooth, initially dark green, basal internodes striped purple and others purple-streaked above node; wall 0.5-3 mm thick; nodes slightly raised; sheath scar thick, white; branches 7-20, central dominant. Culm sheaths deciduous, tough, shorter than internodes, light brown with purple-brown streaks and stripes, glabrous, initially with dense mucous, apically rounded; margins with dense copper-red cilia; auricles absent; oral setae absent; ligule broad, 0.5-1 mm tall, serrate; blade linear-lanceolate, tall, erect, persistent. Leaves 2-6 per ultimate branch; sheaths distally and veins red-purple where exposed, glabrous, external margin distally white-ciliate; auricles absent; oral setae absent; ligule ca. 1.5 mm, rounded, tomentose; external ligule shortly cilate; blade broadly linear-lanceolate, delicate, matt bright green at first, 4-20 0.5-2.5 cm, glabrous, base rounded to cuneate, secondary veins 3-5-paired, transverse veins usually not visible.
Name Latin cupreus ‘coppery’ referring to the culm sheath cilia.
This bamboo from W Nepal differs from H. falconeri in its longer culm internodes and culm sheaths, the erect culm sheath blades, and in the prominence of the copper-coloured culm sheath cilia.
 Himalayacalamus cupreus was introduced into the UK by Merlyn Edwards in 1994 from the Modhi Khola valley in the Annapurna area of W Nepal, where it is harvested for weaving mats and baskets, and for its delicious edible shoots.
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 "copper-red sheath cilia")
 "central branch dominant")
 "no auricle or oral setae")
 "leaf sheath ligule tomentose")
 "long culm sheath blades")
 "basal internodes striped")
 "bright green foliage")
 "clump")
 "basal culm sheath striped")
 "culm sheath apex")
