Yushania (PROSEA)
Introduction |
Yushania Keng f.
- Family: Gramineae
Major species and synonyms
- Yushania niitakayamensis (Hayata) Keng f. Synonym: Arundinaria niitakayamensis Hayata.
- Yushania tessellata (Holttum) S. Dransf. Synonym: Racemobambos tessellata Holttum.
Vernacular names
- Y. niitakayamensis : Philippines: utod (Igorot).
Distribution
Y. niitakayamensis is native in Taiwan and Luzon (the Philippines); Y. tessellata is endemic in Sabah (Mt. Kinabalu, Bukit Ampuan, and Melingan)(Malaysia).
Uses
Y. niitakayamensis is planted for erosion control. Both species are or are potentially useful ornamental plants.
Observations
Sympodial, open tufted bamboos, with long-necked rhizomes. Culms erect, 1.6-5 m tall, diameter 3-15 mm, walls relatively thin; internodes 30-40 cm long; nodes with prominent supranodal ridge bearing few to several spine-like aerial roots below. Branches two to several at each node. Inflorescences semelauctant, paniculate, terminating leafy branches; spikelets with 4-10 florets. In Luzon (the Philippines), Y. niitakayamensis , a small erect bamboo up to 1.6 m tall, grows gregariously in open grassland and mossy forest at 2100-2800 m altitude. In Sabah, Y. tessellata grows in mountain forest at 1500-1800 m altitude.
Selected sources
11, 19.