A thorny bamboo, easily distinguished from all other Himalayan bamboos by the growth of solitary shoots from long spreading rhizomes, in addition to thorns around the culm nodes. Even without rhizomes and culms, it can still be recognised by the raised nodes on branches and even on small branchlets, or by the lightly hairy culm sheaths with small blades. Underneath the culm sheaths the culms often have mottled brown stains. The other temperate bamboo in the region with thorns around the culm, Chimonocalamus griffithianus from Sikkim and Meghalaya, may occur in Bhutan, but can be distinguished by its
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