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Cephalostachyum latifolium (Dz. jhi, K. Pishima, Nep. ghopi bans)                              U43

 

A distinctive species of the cooler subtropical forests of western and southern Bhutan, usually found between 1,500m and 2,000m. Culms are up to 15m long, and up to 5cm in diameter, with internodes up to 1m in length. The straggling clumps have long pendulous culm tips, and very large leaves for the size of the culms. The ridged culm sheaths with thin edges and tall shoulders distinguish this from the similar species Cephalostachyum capitatum. The leaf sheaths also have tall shoulders, and both culm and leaf sheaths have long white bristles when young. The bristles are delicate and deciduous, leaving hardly any trace once they have fallen. Culm nodes and 

 

 sheath bases have short light-brown hairs. The culm nodes are swollen, with a corky collar similar to that of Ampelocalamus patellaris, but much thinner. The flexible culms with very long internodes are highly suitable for weaving, and the broad leaves, up to 30cm long and 6cm wide, make excellent animal fodder. This bamboo is harvested from the forest on a regular basis. Most of the clumps of this species near Phuntsholing flowered in the 1990s, and many seedlings and small young clumps were seen in the forest. Some of the orange flowers were collected for use as paint brushes.

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