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Rhizome neck 4-10 cm. Culms 2-6 m, 0.5-1.5 cm in diam.; internodes 10-25 cm, finely ridged, cylindrical, glabrous, initially slightly to densely white-waxy, initially matt mid green, with no red/purple colouring; wall 1-4 mm thick; nodes slightly raised; sheath scar thin, light brown; branches 7-20, central dominant, green, nodes hairy. Culm sheaths slowly deciduous, papery, longer than internodes, apically rounded, pale with purple/brown streaks and lines especially at basal nodes, glabrous, with light mucous at first; margins external proximally white-ciliate, distally glabrous; auricles absent; oral setae initially 2-6 each side, erect, to 6 mm, weak, quickly deciduous; ligule 2-3 mm tall, serrate or lacerate, glabrous; blade long, narrowly lanceolate, reflexed, deciduous. Leaves 4-6 per ultimate branch; sheaths green or apically pink to purple, glabrous, external margin of some sheaths prominently ciliate from auricle to base; auricles absent; oral setae to 8 each side, erect or bent, weak, 2-4 mm; ligule 1-4 mm mm, rounded to acute, tomentose; external ligule shortly cilate; blade linear-lanceolate, delicate, matt bright green at first, 4-19 0.3-1.2 cm, upper surface glabrous, abaxial surface proximally lightly pubescent by midrib, petiole adaxially pubescent, base rounded to cuneate, secondary veins 2-3-paired, margins distally very shortly setose, transverse veins not visible.
Name Latin porcatus ‘ridged’ referring to the fine longitudinal ridges on the culm internodes.
This bamboo from C Nepal is similar to H. hookerianus in having substantial wax and fine ridges on the culm internodes, but it has a broad culm sheath apex and erect oral setae. Hardiness is similar to that of H. hookerianus.
 Himalayacalamus porcatus was introduced to the UK by Merlyn Edwards in Nov 1971 from ca. 7,300ft near the Langtang Valley, C Nepal, where it is known as seto nigalo, white small bamboo, because of the dense culm wax.
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 "smooth culm sheath with no hairs")
 "glabrous node and culm wax")
 "leaf sheaths with erect bristles")
 "uniform culm internode wax")
 "red tips to some leaf sheaths after cold")
 "branching")
 "glabrous culm sheath interior")
 "lower surface of leaf sheaths & blades")
 "sheaths of new shoot basal")
 "sole remaining culm sheath bristle")
 "hairy branchlet node")
