Japanese name: ホテイチク（布袋竹） Scientific name:Phyllostachys aurea
[Overview]
A bamboo 5–12 m tall.
The culm (stem) is 3–5 cm in diameter and swells alternately left and right just below each node, so the nodes look zigzag when seen from the side.
The culm is glossy and at first tinged with a white powder.
Branches emerge two at a time from each node at an acute angle, and each branch tip bears 2–5 leaves.
The leaves are lanceolate, 6.5–13 cm long and 0.9–2.1 cm wide.
Bamboo shoots appear in May.
The flowering cycle is 60–120 years, and after flowering the whole bamboo grove dies.
[Uses]
The bamboo shoots are edible.
It is used as a material for fishing rods, walking sticks and the like.
[Notes]
The name compares the swollen nodes to the belly of Hotei (a god of good fortune).
