Ohe Common Bamboo - Bambusa vulgaris - 4" Pot

Bambusa vulgaris, common bamboo, is an open-clump type bamboo species. It is native to Indochina and to the province of Yunnan in southern China, but it has been widely cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in several. Among bamboo species, it is one of the largest and most easily recognized. Bambusa vulgaris is widely planted and used for a variety of purposes, primarily for use in light construction such as houses, huts, boats (masts, rudders, outriggers, boating poles), fences, scaffolding, furniture, musical instruments and handicrafts. Culms are also used as carrying poles or banana plant supports. Split stems are used for brooms, baskets, and rings prepared from the split culms are put into ear perforations by the Tunkul-Naga tribes of Manipur. In New Guinea culms are used to make traditional combs and penis gourds ('koteka') in the phallocrypt tradition. This bamboo is also an excellent raw material for paper and pulp production. Laboratory studies and pilot trials of pulp made from this species growing in Africa indicate its potential value, especially for mixing with hardwood pulps. Young shoots are edible but of average quality, therefore shoots are rarely used as a vegetable.