Schizostachyum jaculans (PROSEA)
Introduction |
Schizostachyum jaculans Holttum
- Protologue: Kew Bulletin 1953(4): 494 (1953).
- Family: Gramineae
- Chromosome number: 2n= unknown
Vernacular names
- Peninsular Malaysia: buloh sumpitan, buloh temiang, buloh kasap.
Origin and geographic distribution
The origin of S. jaculans is not known. It is widely planted throughout Peninsular Malaysia, but it probably occurs wild in the northern parts.
Uses
The culms of S. jaculans are used to make blowpipes. Two internodes are very carefully joined and then put into a stronger tube made from a larger part of the culm. In Kepong (Malaysia) this bamboo is also used for soil stabilization and erosion control on forest roads.
Production and international trade
Production and trade of culms of S. jaculans are only local and no statistics are available.
Description
Densely tufted, sympodial bamboo, forming a compact clump. Culm slender, 6-10 m tall, 2-4 cm in diameter, wall 2 mm thick, erect with long pendulous tip, dull green; internodes 70-100(-125) cm long, covered with appressed pale hairs, glabrous when older, with white waxy ring below the node; nodes without prominent girdle. Branches arising from midculm nodes upward, all more or less of equal size. Culm sheath 20-30 cm × (3-)9-15 cm, narrowest at truncate top, yellow-green, becoming stramineous, covered copiously with easily detached light brown hairs, junction with blade slightly curved; blade narrowly lanceolate, tapering to a fine long tip, 15-26 cm × 7-10 mm, erect first, later deflexed, when young densely covered with light brown hairs adaxially; ligule short, barely 2 mm long, fringed with fine bristles; auricles absent, replaced by long bristles. Young shoots pale green. Leaf blade 14-38 cm × 2.5-7.5 cm, in flowering branches 7-9 cm × 1 cm, glabrous above, pubescent below; sheath glabrous or with pale hairs along the margins; ligule very short; auricles very short, bearing slender bristles 4-10 mm long. Inflorescences terminating almost leafless branches, 9-17 cm long, consisting of dense tufts of pseudospikelets at the nodes 1-4 cm apart; spikelet cylindrical with pointed tip, about 17 mm long, glabrous, usually without a rachilla extension, containing only one perfect floret. Caryopsis not known.
Growth and development
Young shoots are produced almost all the year round. Contrary to most other species in the genus Schizostachyum , S. jaculans very seldom flowers. In most species of Schizostachyum the inflorescences terminate leafy branches and are present in almost all culms of a clump. In S. jaculans however, inflorescences are usually found on almost leafless branches on only some of the culms in a clump.
Other botanical information
In Peninsular Malaysia, another bamboo, Kinabaluchloa wrayi (Stapf) K.M. Wong, is reputed for its long internodes (up to 2 m) from which blowpipes are made. They are said to be superior to those of S. jaculans because being made from one internode only.
Ecology
S. jaculans is usually cultivated in lowland Peninsular Malaysia, up to 200 m altitude.
Agronomy
Although S. jaculans is widely cultivated in Peninsular Malaysia, its agronomic aspects have not been reported. It can be successfully propagated by planting offsets of one-year-old culms. There are no reports of diseases and pests.
Genetic resources and breeding
There are no known germplasm collections and breeding programmes for S. jaculans . It is found in some botanical gardens, e.g. in the FRIM Arboretum, Kepong near Bukit Lagong (Peninsular Malaysia) and in the Singapore Botanic Garden.
Prospects
It can be expected that economically, S. jaculans will remain a rather unimportant bamboo unless other applications can be developed. For this, more research is needed. Germplasm collection is nevertheless recommended.
Literature
- Holttum, R.E., 1953. A Malaysian blow-pipe bamboo. Kew Bulletin 1953: 493-496.
- Holttum, R.E., 1958. The bamboos of the Malay Peninsula. The Gardens' Bulletin, Singapore 16: 40-42.
Authors
S. Dransfield