Schizostachyum brachycladum

Schizostachyum brachycladum

The Bali kuning bamboo or sacred Bali bamboo (Schizostachyum brachycladum (Kurz ex Munro) Kurz, 1870) is a shrub species belonging to the Poaceae family.

Systematic –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Subkingdom Tracheobionta,
Spermatophyta Superdivision,
Division Magnoliophyta,
Class Liliopsida,
Subclass Commelinidae,
Order Cyperales,
Poaceae family,
Subfamily Bambusoideae,
Bambuseae Tribe,
Subtribe Melocanninae,
Genus Schizostachyum
S. brachycladum species.
The term is basionym:
– Melocanna zollingeri var. brachyclada Kurz ex Munro;
The terms are synonymous:
– Arundo cratium Oken;
– Melocanna brachyclada Kurz;
– Melocanna zollingeri subsp. brachyclada Kurz;
– Melocanna zollingeri subsp. brachyclada Kurz ex Munro;
– Melocanna zollingeri var. brachyclada Kurz;
– Melocanna zollingeri var. brachyclada Kurz ex Munro;
– Schizostachyum brachycladum subsp. auriculatum Holttum;
– Schizostachyum brachycladum var. auriculatum Holttum.

Etymology –
The term Schizostachyum comes from the Greek σχιζω (schizo), i.e. split, divide and στάχυς (stachys), i.e. spike, in reference to the spacing of the spikelets.
The specific epithet brachycladum comes from the Greek βραχύς (brachys), i.e. short and κλάδος (clados), i.e. branch, with obvious reference.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Schizostachyum brachycladum is a bamboo native to an area that includes: Borneo, Java, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Its habitat is that of disturbed or secondary forest, rarely in undisturbed forest, at altitudes up to 600 meters. It is also commonly found in the wild or naturalized state along roadsides and is frequently cultivated in villages.

Description –
Schizostachyum brachycladum is an evergreen rhizomatous plant with close-set, erect cylindrical culms, curved only at the apex, 6-13 m in height and 5-10 cm in diameter; these are green or bluish green with occasional darker, waxy white longitudinal thin stripes beneath the nodes.
The culms are hollow between the nodes; they have walls 2.5-6.5 mm thick, and internodes 30-60 cm long, covered by a sheath that persists for a long time, up to about 25 cm long, brown in color and initially equipped with reddish brown bristly hairs; they have an erect, triangular-shaped blade with a pointed apex, 5-9 cm long and wide, slightly convex, pubescent.
They have branching at the nodes, starting from about halfway up the culm, with 25-30 thin branches per node.
The leaves are alternate, lanceolate in shape, with a pointed apex, 15-35 cm long and 3-6 cm wide; these are initially covered by hair, then glabrous, with rough edges.
The inflorescences are 20-35 cm long and have spikelets grouped at the nodes, 1.5-2.5 cm long, with 1-2 flowers each, purple anthers 0.6 cm long and white stigma.
The plant flowers frequently, almost every year, and flowering does not cause the death of the culm.
The fruit is a caryopsis which is however rarely produced.

Cultivation –
Schizostachyum brachycladum is a perennial, evergreen bamboo, very important for the local economy; it is collected in the wild and also commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia for its culms, which provide material for construction, crafts, containers, pipes, etc. Forms with yellow culms are often grown as ornamentals.
It is a plant of lowland tropical areas, where it is found at altitudes lower than 600 meters and which grows well on any type of soil, but performs better in a sandy substrate; however, it grows well on well-drained sandy loam or sandy clay soils.
It can also be grown in large containers for decorating patios, terraces and large bright environments with high ceilings such as atriums, shopping centers etc.
Bamboos have an interesting growing method. Each plant produces a number of new stems each year: these stems reach their maximum height in the first year of growth, subsequent stem growth is limited to the production of new lateral branches and leaves.
The plant flowers continuously, and each mature culm in an established clump bears inflorescences terminating in leafy branches, though, however, ripe fruit is rarely found; furthermore, this plant normally retains its vegetative vigor unchanged after flowering.
This bamboo cannot tolerate temperature values close to 0 °C unless exceptional and for a very short period. It requires full sun, or at most light shade, and a position sheltered from strong winds.
The plant reproduces by seed, but more frequently by division of tufts and portions of culm buried horizontally.
Other propagation systems are in fact those for rhizome cuttings, consisting of a part of the rhizome, roots and a part of the culm, they are the most common propagation method. The cuttings should be planted at the beginning of the rainy season, horizontally and with fresh shoots laterally, about 20 – 30 cm deep. The soil must be finely worked and the recommended distance is 3 x 3 metres.

Customs and Traditions –
Schizostachyum brachycladum is a bamboo known by various common names, among these we remember: Bali kuning bamboo, sacred Bali bamboo (English); buho, kauayang buho (Philippines); awi buluh, buluh lemang, buluh nehe, buluh sero, buluh tolang (Indonesia); buloh nipis, buloh lemang, buloh silau, buloh telang (Malaysia); kriap, phai kriap, phai pho, phai po, phai por (Thailand); lồ ô (Vietnam).
The young shoots are edible, with a rather bitter taste, and in south-east Asia the culms, easily divisible longitudinally thanks to the small thickness of the walls, are used in rural constructions for walls and roofs, they are also used for support poles, water containers and cooking, in particular of a rice and coconut milk dish popular in Malaysia and Indonesia, and for the creation of traditional musical instruments and commonly used artistic and craft objects.
It is also a very popular ornamental bamboo for gardens, landscaping or as a windbreak.
Other uses include agroforestry uses; these bamboos are planted on hill slopes to prevent landslides.

Preparation Method –
Schizostachyum brachycladum is a plant widely used in its natural state but also cultivated.
The young shoots are edible, but rather bitter.
Additionally culms are widely used for purposes such as roofs (split lengthwise as for the Toraja rice barn and traditional house in Sulawesi), water containers, crafts, banana props, and as a container for cooking glutinous rice ( “lemang”).
Internodes are used to make water pipes for smoking tobacco; decorated with a carved pattern in low relief (“serobok”), also for various carved containers, for example the one used for the sacred wine served during the Gawai festival (“Garong basket”).
Clothes have been made from the fibers of the culm: the fibers are quite easy to separate from the internodes; They are strong and elastic and can be woven into cloth.
Traditionally the soft inner part of the culms was chewed and washed to extract the fibres.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora d’Italia, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://www.guaduabamboo.com/blog/schizostachyum-brachycladum
– https://jbrj-public-img.s3-sa-east-1.amazonaws.com/JPG/rb/1/14/64/54/01146454.jpg

Attention: Pharmaceutical applications and food uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; we therefore decline any responsibility for their use for healing, aesthetic or food purposes.