*Bambusa japonica (B. Metake).—A large-leaved and rather dwarf species from Japan, growing from 4 ft. to 7 ft. high, with erect thickly-tufted stems, which are entirely covered by the sheaths of the leaves; the branches are also erect. The leaves are lance-shaped, with a very sharp point, dark green, persistent, narrowed into a short leaf-stalk, and nearly a foot long. This species sometimes flowers with extraordinary profusion at the expense of a portion of the foliage, which withers away and leaves the naked stems exposed. This may, however, be prevented to some extent, by placing the plants on mounds somewhat above the level of the surrounding soil. I have seen it thrive very freely in the late Mr. Borrer’s garden in Sussex, and in one or two other places. It loves a peat soil, or a very free moist and deep loam, and runs a good deal at the root.
Bambusa mitis.—A fine and vigorous kind from Cochin China, somewhat tenderer than most of the other
kinds enumerated, though no doubt it will be found to thrive in the milder southern districts; or it may be found useful if grown in the conservatory in winter and placed out in the open air in summer, as is sometimes done with B. arundinacea, which otherwise could not possibly be seen out of doors in our climate. Panicle simple, erect, close; spikes long, imbricated. Leaves rather large, lance-shaped, striated, clasping the stem, which is woody and tapering; nodes rather distant, and not very prominent.
*Bambusa nigra.—A rather compact-growing Chinese kind, with nearly solid stems, and thinner leaves than those of any other species. The stems are smooth and bushy, about 7 ft. high, of a light green, dotted and striped with purple when young, changing to a glistening black when fully grown; they branch very much at the top, and sometimes from the base up. The leaves are oval-oblong, acute, shortly-stalked, with a hard, dry, persistent sheath; their tender green colour contrasting finely with the blackish hue of the stems. It is best planted as isolated specimens near the margins of shrubberies, or on slopes in the pleasure-ground in warm, sunny, and sheltered positions, in deep, sandy, and well-drained soil.
*Bambusa Quilioi.—A Japanese species of vigorous growth, with robust green stems and bright-green leaves, polished above and slightly mealy beneath, the ligule bearing a little bundle of brownish-grey hairs at the top. This kind I first saw in the gardens of the Acclimatisation Society at Paris, where it was thriving vigorously, and I have little doubt of its proving valuable in Britain.
*Bambusa Simonii.—A handsome, distinct, and vigorous species, which has grown very freely for some years past in the neighbourhood of Paris. The stems are numerous and grow as much as 10 ft. high in a season. They are mealy-glaucous at the joints, and the branchlets are numerous and rather closely crowded. The leaves are narrow, sometimes nearly a foot long, and are occasionally striped with white. This species, which was obtained from China some years since, has thriven very well in the gardens at Paris, where M. Carrière first drew my attention to it. From what I have seen it do there I have no doubt it will prove of great value in the milder southern parts of England and Ireland.