Sweet bamboo shoot, Taiwan giant bamboo, Dried bamboo shoot
Dendrocalamus latiflorus

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A tufted bamboo plant. It grows 20-50 m tall. The stems are long and bend. They are 10-30 cm across. The segments are 45-60 cm apart. The leaves are 6-15 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. The flowers are small. They are 12-15 mm across. They are feathery and red or purple in colour.

It is also used in medicine. There are about 29 Dendrocalamus species.

Where it is found

It is cultivated. It occurs in subtropical conditions. It grows up to 1,000 m altitude in Taiwan. It can tolerate temperatures to -4°C. It can also grow in the lowland tropics. It does best on moist fertile soil. Alkaline or acid soils are not suitable for shoots. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. In XTBG Yunnan. In Sichuan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, China, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Northeastern India, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The shoots are eaten cooked or canned. They are also shredded and dried. They are also fermented. The shoots are eaten raw. They are also shredded and dried and used in snacks.

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. The shoots are an important vegetable. It is grown in large quantities in Taiwan and China. They are canned and exported.

Edible parts

Shoots, vegetable

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed or by rhizome and culm cuttings. Fresh seed germinate in 2 weeks. Culm or stem cuttings 50 cm long with 2 nodes and from 2 year old culms are used. They are planted horizontally 6-10 cm deep. A spacing for shooted cuttings is 4-5 m apart. Harvested shoots are steamed, cut lengthwise, cleaned and sterilised in boiling water for 15 minutes before eating or canning. Shoots are harvested 7-25 days after they emerge.

A 1-2 year old culm can produce 5-10 shoots. These weigh 3-5 kg.

Its other names

Local names

Bambu taiwan, Big jute bamboo, Gomi, Hava, Kaha, Ma bamboo, Machiku, Ma-chu, Maribob, Wa-bo, Wa-ni

Synonyms

Bambusa latiflora (Munro) Kurz.; Bambusa verticillata Willd.; Sinocalamus latiflorus (Munro) McClure;