Bambusa multiplex (hedge bamboo, "Horaichiku")

Japanese name: ホウライチク （蓬莱竹）
Scientific name: Bambusa multiplex

[Overview]
A bamboo 3–10 m tall, used for hedges and similar purposes in warm regions.
The rhizomes do not spread; the culms (stems) grow densely in clumps, forming a multi-stemmed plant, standing upright with the tips slightly drooping.
The culms are 2–3 cm in diameter with internodes 30–50 cm long; when young they are green and densely covered with fine hairs, but later become yellowish brown and hairless.
Many branches emerge from each node.
The leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 6–15 cm long and 0.7–1.5 cm wide, hairless, and borne 3–9 at a time in a pinnate arrangement at the branch tips.
The leaves have only longitudinal parallel veins, with no cross veins connecting them.
The spikelets consist of 4–10 florets, grow in clusters of 5–9 at the nodes or tips of the branches, and are sessile.
The bamboo shoots appear from June to September; the culm sheaths are green at first and later turn yellowish brown, are leathery and hairless, and fall off as the shoot grows.

[Uses]
The bamboo shoots are edible.
The culms are used for crafts such as baskets, strainers and walking sticks.
In warm regions it is used for land boundaries, riverbank protection, windbreaks and the like.
The fibers of the culm are said to have been used as the match cords of matchlock guns.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division or cuttings.
Transplant one month before the bamboo shoots emerge.
It prefers fertile soil in sun to partial shade that is well drained and moderately moist.
Avoid places exposed to strong afternoon sun.
Water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Apply organic fertilizer in winter.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
Because the bamboo shoots appear in summer, it is also called Doyo-chiku, and because the culms sink in water, it is also called Chin-chiku.

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