Skip to main content

Black bamboo (Gigantochloa atroviolacea)

Pring wulung or black bamboo (Gigantochloa atroviolacea) is a plant species in Poaceae, black and sturdy bamboo, growing in large, dense and upright clumps which are often used as material for making musical instruments, furniture, household utensils and handicrafts.

G. atroviolacea has green-black bamboo shoots with orange tips, covered with brown to black hairs. The reed grows straight and upright, 15 meters high, the segments 40-50 cm long and the walls 8 mm thick.

Dlium Black bamboo (Gigantochloa atroviolacea)


The reeds are dark green when young, turning greenish purple to dark brown with patches of pale or whitish rings on the joints with few aerial roots. Many branches, usually appearing at a height of 2-3 meters above the ground and one larger than the other.

The reed fronds fall off easily, except that the lowest one often persists, 16-20 cm long, has burly hair and is dark brown on the outside. The leaves of the reed are egg-shaped or oblong with a triangle with a narrow base, 4-9 cm long and curl back.

The frond ears are round with a slightly curved tip, 4 mm wide, 3-5 mm high and 7 mm long curved hair. The ligula is serrated irregular, 2 mm high and locos.

Leaves on twigs are lanceolate, 20-28 cm long, 2-5 cm wide and locos. Leaf midrib covered with whitish hairs when young. Frond ears up to 1 mm and lokos. The ligula is serrated, 2 mm high and locos.







Inflorescences in the form of panicles on leafy twigs with clusters of up to 18 spikelets on each segment. The spikelet is oval lanceolate, 8-11 cm long, 3 mm wide, 4 perfect florets and one flawless tip floret.

Black bamboo lives in humid tropical regions with rainfall of 1500-3700 mm per year, humidity of more than 70% and temperatures of 20-32C. Generally grows on latosol soils, red laterite and reddish brown, but prefers drier chalky soils.

The density of wet reeds is 0.37-0.48 and dry is 0.65. Dry reed moisture content is 16.8%. Black bamboo is used as a material for making musical instruments, household items, furniture, halls, handicrafts and various types of weaving. Bamboo shoots are often cooked as a vegetable.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Tribe: Bambuseae
Subtribe: Bambusinae
Genus: Gigantochloa
Species: Gigantochloa atroviolacea

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)

Pokok lipan or devil's-backbone or redbird flower or christmas candle or Pedilanthus tithymaloides ( Euphorbia tithymaloides ) are plant species in Euphorbiaceae, upright, evergreen, gummy shrubs, growing in tropical and subtropical regions. E. tithymaloides likes sandy soils especially with high concentrations of boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. This bush grows to 2.4 m high and 61 cm wide. Simple angiosperm leaves, arranged opposite to the stem where each leaf is sessile with a length of 3.6-7.6 cm. The stem has the tip of a handle that supports a group of flowers that are not scented. Bifid crown and ovoid. The involucral bracts are bright red, irregular in shape and length from 1.1 to 1.3 mm. Hairy male and female pedicels. Seed pods are 7.6 mm long, 8.9 mm wide and ovate with clipped ends. Devil's-backbone generally blooms in mid-spring in the subtropical region and in the dry season in the tropics. Pollination is carried out by ants and birds. ...

False nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica)

False nettle ( Boehmeria cylindrica ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family, a herb or small shrub, up to 160 cm tall, usually monoecious but rarely dioecious. The leaves are paired or alternate, and the inflorescence is a spikelet with a cluster of small bracts at the tip. B. cylindrica generally grows to a height of 50-100 cm. Spine-like hairs form in the leaf axils. The leaves are oval and up to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. The flowers are green or greenish-white and emerge from the upper leaf axils. Male and female flowers usually grow on separate plants. Male flowers are more numerous among the spikes in clusters. Female flowers are less evenly distributed along the spikes. The small, oval seeds are covered with small, hook-like hairs. Ripe seeds are dark brown. The inflorescence resembles a spike and is up to 3 cm long. This species can be found in moist to mesic deciduous forest habitats, growing abundantly along streambanks, floodplains, and lowlands. B. cylindrica is ...