15. Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees and Arn. ex Murno, Trans

Local names

Tama Bamboo

General description

Dendrocalamus hamiltonii is an evergreen, clump-forming bamboo with woody culms can grow 12 - 25 metres tall. The culms are 9 - 20cm in diameter at the base, with internodes 30 - 50cm apart and walls 12 - 20mm thick.Culm-sheaths long and stiff, variable in size. Leaves variable, small on side branches, but on new shoots reaching 37.5 cm long and 3.75 cmbroad rounded at the base into a short thick petiole. Inflorescence a much branched large panicle with many whorls of branches. Spikelets purple, ovoid, 10 mm long, glabrous. Stamens exserted, pendulous; anthers purple, connective produced into a long black hairy twisted point. Ovary sub-orbicular, hairy; style long, hairy; stigmas 3, plumose. Caryopsis broadly ovoid, beaked, glabrous or hairy above. The distinguishing features of this species are brown pubescent culm with bent top in mature culms, root verticils areseen in almost all the nodes of the culm; largely broad ovate branch buds; zig-zag internodes in some culms. The flowering cycle is reported to be 30-40 years. The entire clump flowers profusely and dies soon after seeding.

Habit and Habitat

Tree form. This species occurs in finer textured soil in semi-evergreen forests in lesser rainfall area. It is known to be a light demanding species

Distribution

Southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India – North- West Himalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

Uses

Used for walls of native huts, construction purposes, basket-making, mats, water and milk vessels, fuel,floats for timber-rafts. The tribals of Arunachal Pradesh use the tender shoot for preparation of pickle.

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