A large bamboo with strong culms common in the plains of India, but rare in Bhutan. This species can be recognised by the culm sheath auricles, which are slightly pointed and curve backwards. There are also bristles on the undulating lower edges of the culm sheath blade. The interior of the blade has prominent lines of dense, dark, upright hairs. It is similar in culm characteristics and uses to other Bambusa species such as Bambusa nutans or Bambusa tulda, having strong thick walls, and it provides a general purpose construction material. The culms are not flexible and are not generally used for  weaving. They  are  

straighter than those of B. tulda but shorter than those of B. nutans. This species is widely cultivated throughout the tropical world, because it can be propagated very easily. Culm cuttings are very successful and the branches will root rapidly on their own in a moist site. Ornamental varieties of this species with prominently striped yellow and green culms are widely grown in Indian gardens. A cultivar with short swollen nodes, cv. ‘Wamin’, is also cultivated, sometimes as a pot plant. Cultivated forms of this species do not flower gregariously, and will often remain in vegetative growth indefinitely.