Unidentified Thai Species

Melocalamus sp. • BS-0599

Melocalamus sp.

• Distribution: Eastern THAILAND, wild.
• Culm size: Height ca. 15 m, diameter ca. 4 cm.
• Uses: Culms used locally for woven bamboo hats.
• Comments: Flowers and seeds unknown.
• Specimens: BS-0599 (living plant), received as "ไผ่เกรียบ (phai kriab)" from cultivated stock of Nana Phan Nursery, Prachin Buri, 1 Dec. 2010, said to originate from mountains of nearby Khao Yai National Park where this bamboo grows wild, abundant and widespread.

• Characters: Habit an open clumper. Rhizome pachymorph, long. Culm-internodes thin-walled, easily splittable. Culm-nodes with a ring of patent hairs.
• Cultivation requirements: Prefers partial shade.
• Provisional identification: The species is tentatively assigned to Melocalamus as there are some similarities with plants of Melocalamus compactiflorus.
• Comments: The Thai name, ไผ่เกรียบ (phai kriab), was applied to several different species, among them Melocanna arundina, but BS-0599 is certainly not this species.