Fargesia dracocephala

Fargesia dracocephala
Close-up of culms, leaves and emerging shoots of the cultivar F. dracocephala 'Rufa'
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Bambusoideae
Supertribe: Bambusodae
Tribe: Bambuseae
Subtribe: Arundinariinae
Genus: Fargesia
Species: F. dracocephala
Binomial name
Fargesia dracocephala
T.P.Yi

Fargesia dracocephala is a woody bamboo native to central China. It is known in Chinese as longtou jianzhu (Chinese: ; pinyin: lóngtóujiǎnzhú), meaning dragon head Fargesia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek and has the same meaning. It is found at high elevations in the south of Gansu, western Hubei, southern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan. The plant is a significant source of food for the giant panda.[1]

There is a bamboo cultivated in the west sold under the same name, but it is actually a recently described species, namely Fargesia apicirubens. Confusingly, the most common cultivar of F. dracocephala is sometimes sold in the west under the name Fargesia rufa, which is a different species. When properly designated, it appears as Fargesia 'Rufa'.[2]

References

  1. Li, De-Zhu; Guo, Zhenhua; Stapleton, Chris (2007), "Fargesia dracocephala", in Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y., Flora of China 22, Beijing: Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, p. 93
  2. Stapleton, Chris, Dragon’s Head Bamboo: Fargesia dracocephala, retrieved 2007-10-06


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