Male Bamboo, Calcutta stricta
Dendrocalamus strictus

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A bamboo. It is densely tufted. In moist areas it keeps its leaves and in dry areas it loses them. It grows about 8-16 m high. The stems are 4-10 cm across. They are often curved. The nodes are swollen. The lower nodes often root. The internodes are 30-45 cm long. The stem sheath is hairless. The leaves are narrowly sword shaped. It is 25 cm long by 3 cm wide. They have fine hairs on both surfaces. The flowers are brown in round heads. The fruit is a grain.

There are about 29 Dendrocalamus species. Chemical composition 100 g edible portion. Shoots: Water 90 g, Protein 2.9 g, Fat 0.3 g, carbohydrate 2 g, fibre 1 g, ash 1 g, Ca 15 mg, Fe 0.6 mg, P 46 mg, Vit A 133 IU, Vit C 0.2 mg.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. t grows in tropical and subtropical places. The best annual temperature is between 20-30°C. It can stand temperatures down to -5°C and up to 45°C. A rainfall between 1000-3000 mm is best. It can tolerate drought and does best with lower humidity. It can grow up to 1,200 m altitude. It does best on sandy soils with a pH of 5.5-7.5. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. I

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Caribbean, Central America, China, Cuba, East Africa, Ghana, Guam, Himalayas, India (country/location of origin), Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, NW India, Pacific, Pakistan, Philippines, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Young shoots are cooked as a vegetable or pickled. They are cut into pieces and boiled then cooked with rice. The seeds are also roasted and eaten. There is also an edible manna that develops on this plant. The roots are pounded into a powder.

It is a cultivated food plant. Shoots are sold in markets.

Edible parts

Seeds, leaves, shoots, cereal, manna, rhizome, root

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seeds or by splitting the rhizome. It can also be grown with difficulty from culm or stem cuttings and by tissue culture. Seed need to be planted fresh. They lose their viability is 3 months. Seed once dried and stored in cool conditions can be kept for 3 years.

They take 6-13 years to produce a mature clump. The new rhizomes bend downwards before curving up to produce new shoots. Clumps deepen and widen. Up to 20 new culms can be produced each year from a large clump. Up to 200 can be produced from very large clumps. Only a few culms may die after flowering and not the whole clump. The time till flowering can be 20-65 years.

Its other names

Local names

An-kuang, Bambu besi, Bambu batu, Bans Ka Ban, Bans kaban, Bans khurd, Basa, Bhariyel, Bidiru, Bidiru kalale, Biru mad, Buloh batu, Calcutta bamboo, Delea bance, Heedi, Hmyin-wa, Iudo, Kal, Kali musali, Kalmungil, Karai bans, Karail, Kavil, Keltha, Kiri bidiru, Lathi bans, Manwal, Mungil, Myinwa, Nakor vans, Nakur bans, Narbans, Phai-sang, Phai sang dam, Ranj, S'ang, Sadanapa veduru, Salia bhanso, Salimbo bhanso, Solid bamboo, Tama bans, Vansha, Vans nibhaaji, Vaste, Veddur, Veduru, Velu

Synonyms

Bambos stricta Roxb.; Bambusa stricta (Roxb.) Roxb.;