Gigantochloa Atter

Common name: Giant Atter or Sweet Bamboo

Rhizomes:

Sympodial (Grows in dense clumps).
Short and thick rhizomes that curve upwards to produce new culms which occurs on a yearly or continual basis.

Culms:

Average height: 15-22m
Average diameter: 5-10cm
Culms are straight, woody, with aerial roots from the nodes.
Culm internodes are cylindrical, thin-walled, 40 to 50 cm long, light green and covered with stiff, rough hairs.

Culm-sheaths:

Culm-sheaths shed annually at the end of the growing season, then having a dormant period without sheaths and regrowing them at the beginning of the next growing season.
Culm-sheaths are 21-36 cm long and covered with stiff, rough, black hairs.
Culm-sheath terminate abruptly at the end, as if the end is cut off.
Culm-sheath is shaped like an ear-lobe with 3-7 mm high auricles.
Culm-sheats have a hairlike structure on the shoulders with 4-6 mm long hairs.
Culm-sheath ligule (= an appendage to a plant that is shaped like a strap) is 3-6 mm high and are edged with toothlike projections.
Culm-sheath blade is bend, narrowly broad and round at the base and tapering towards the end and sheds all blades annually at the end of the growing season and regrow them at the beginning of the next growing season.

Branches:

Leafs:

Leaf-sheath auricles erect and are 1 mm long.
Leaf-blade base with a brief stalk-like connection to sheath, stalk-like connection is 3-5 mm long.
Leaf-blades are lance-shaped, going from a rounded base towards an appex OR have more length than width with parallel sides.
Leaf-blades are 20-40cm long and 30-90mm wide.
Leaf blade surface has no hairs, is smooth.

Flowering: