Tropical Blue Bamboo, White Powdery Bamboo

Bambusa chungii McClure

bam-BOO-sah CHUNG-ee-eye

Poaceae

Explantion of name: Bambu is an ancient Malaysian name for Bamboos (WA1). Chungii  honors W. K. Chung, former president of Lignan University in Guangzhou, China (OHR). The –ii at the end of the name means “belongs too,” thus Bambusa chungii is “Chung’s Bamboo.”

Natural range: China. Hills or often on river or stream banks, moist, apparently an understory species

Recognition: Large, sympodial, non-invasive clumping bamboo with distinctive waxy blue-white coloration, especially on the stems

Landscape uses: (contributed by Marx Brosio of Bamboo for You Nursery):

This is a stunning ornamental, due to the profusion of white bloom (a waxy, white powder-like substance) on the new green canes. In bright light the canes have a greenish-white appearance, but in lower light, such as at dawn and dusk, the appearance is a beautiful, soft, bluish-white. This bamboo is a fast grower and is not as tight a clumper as some others, so it requires a little more space in the garden. This bamboo can also be used to create an impressive, large hedge, if you have the space and the budget. It will top out at about 30 feet, with culms up to 2 inches in diameter.

            Named in 1997, Bambusa chungii var. barbellata (Q. H. Dai) Ohrnb. is also Chinese and attains about ¾ the height of the typical species (about 22 feet instead of about 30 feet), and has the internodes sparsely covered with rigid hairs (OHR). This variety is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a cultivar (‘Barbellata’) and is misspelled in some references.

Note: Imported from China in the early 1990s.

Internet source: http://www.tropicalbamboo.com/Featured_Bamboos.asp