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Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (Dz. pagshi, K. su, Nep. choya, tama, ban bans)   D4 & D46

 

The most common bamboo of subtropical forest along the outermost foothills of the Himalayan range, often cultivated further into the hills. It has long leaf sheath ligules, naked triangular auricles on the culm sheaths, persistent pale fur on culms and long drooping culm tips. Var. hamiltonii has small red flowers. Var. edulis is found east of Darjeeling. It has larger yellow flowers, culm nodes with white rings and fewer curved branchlets, shorter leaf sheath ligules, more pendulous culm tips, and sweeter shoots. The culms of D. hamiltonii are thin-walled and very flexible, giving the best weaving material of all large bamboos, but the large branches make culms

 

difficult to split. This species is commonly managed without cutting mature culms. New shoots are removed for eating, and the large branches are cut for weaving material and fodder. This often leads to tightly congested clumps. Vegetative propagation is easy because of the large branches and prolific aerial rooting. Culm cuttings give up to 90% success rates. Small areas of flowering bamboo can be found in most years, and seed is often available. The combination of multiple uses and ease of propagation by seed or cuttings makes this a highly suitable species for all planting programmes. It also has potential for large scale edible shoot production.

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