Bambusa balcooa

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Cladus: Commelinids
Ordo: Poales

Familia: Poaceae
Subfamilia: Bambusoideae
Tribus: Bambuseae
Subtribus: Bambusinae
Genus: Bambusa
Species: Bambusa balcooa
Name

Bambusa balcooa Roxb., 1832
Synonyms

Homotypic
Arundarbor balcooa (Roxb.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 761 (1891).
Heterotypic
Bambusa capensis Rupr., Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math., Seconde Pt. Sci. Nat. 5: 144 (1839).
Bambusa vulgaris Nees, Fl. Afr. Austral. Ill.: 462 (1841), nom. illeg.
Dendrocalamus balcooa Voigt, Hort. Suburb. Calcutt.: 718 (1845).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
References
Primary references

Roxburgh, W. (†). 1832. Flora Indica; or, descriptions of Indian Plants. by the late William Roxburgh. Serampore: W. Thacker & Co. Calcutta; Parbury, Allen & Co., London. Vol. 2. 691 pp. BHL Reference page. : 2: 196

Additional references

Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Bambusa balcooa in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 August 19. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Bambusa balcooa. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 August 19. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2022. Bambusa balcooa. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 19 August 2022.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Bambusa balcooa. Published online. Accessed: August 19 2022.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Bambusa balcooa in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2022 August 19.

Vernacular names
مصرى: بامبوسا بالكوا
অসমীয়া: ভলুকা বাঁহ
Tiếng Việt: Tre lồ ô

Bambusa balcooa[1] is a clumping bamboo native from the Indian subcontinent to Indo-China.[2]
Description

Bambusa balcooa is a very large, thick-walled, clumping or sympodial bamboo:[a] growing up to a height of 25 metres (80 feet), and a thickness of 150 millimetres (6 inches).[3]
Uses

The length and strength of Bambusa balcooa make it a useful material for the construction industry. Furthermore, it is a drought-resistant species with low rainfall requirements and can reach yields upwards of 100 metric tons per hectare (40 metric tons per acre).

B. balcooa has recently gained popularity in South Africa as the species of choice for commercial plantations. Although not native to that country, it is the most prominent "giant" bamboo that is accepted as a naturalized species, since its introduction into South Africa during the 1600s. Government tenders were awarded for trials and studies to determine the feasibility of large-scale cultivation of bamboo in South Africa. However, after several years of research on the Bambusa balcooa species by industry leaders such as Camille Rebelo, it was a group called Ecoplanet Bamboo Group that became the first entity to successfully grow the species at commercial scale.[4] More recently the South African government and other corporations such as ECDC have began to realize the true economic potential of this giant bamboo in agricultural and forestry sectors.
References

Roxburgh W (1832) In: Fl. Ind. ed. 1832, 2: 196.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Bambusa balcooa Archived 2007-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, OzBamboo; Retrieved: 2007-12-19

"EcoPlanet Bamboo website". Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-05.

____________________

Bamboo can be of either the "clumping" (sympodial) type, or the "running" (monopodial) type. The clumping bamboos, such as those in the genus Bambusa, create new plants by growing new shoots very near the base of existing plants. In contrast, "running" types like those found in the genus Phyllostachys send-out rhizomes several meters before sprouting new shoots. This makes the clumping variety a more efficient user of space as the plant matures and it does not spread out very much. While the running types are generally considered invasive and difficult to confine and maintain; the clumping types like Bambusa balcooa require no effort to contain to a specific area.