Phyllostachys edulis Seeds | Moso Bamboo
LATIN NAME: Phyllostachys edulis
COMMON NAME: Moso Bamboo
Plant Profile
Phyllostachys edulis, commonly known as Moso Bamboo, is a bamboo in the grass family (Poaceae), native to warm, moist forests of the eastern Asia. Few plants grow as fast or as tall as moso bamboo, and fewer still are woven so deeply into life of people who live beside it. Moso is a giant, running bamboo, with smooth, green culms that rise straight and close together, reaching up to twenty metres or more, and fine, lance-shaped leaves that rattle in breeze from upper branches. Young shoots push up through ground in spring with startling speed, and a grove of moso is a place of green light and moving leaves. At maturity it stands about Twenty metres. Together these qualities explain its long-standing appeal to gardeners.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Phyllostachys edulis, a representative of the grass family with clear practical value. Moso bamboo has been studied in botany and forestry for its astonishing growth, and way young shoots rise so quickly and culms harden so fast has been carefully watched. Raising it from seed today is a matter of ordinary good practice rather than specialist skill.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Moso Bamboo has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. For people of region, moso bamboo is a plant of a hundred uses. Young shoots are a valued food of spring, and tall, straight culms have long been used for building, furniture and craft of region, while grove holds soil and gives a cool, sheltered place. In garden moso is a bold, striking plant, but it is a runner, and it needs its space or a good root barrier. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Moso and its bamboo kin are civilization-scale plants: edible shoots rich in fiber, construction timber, and bamboo-leaf flavonoids used in functional beverages; the groves are also premier carbon sinks.
Growing from Seed
Starting Moso Bamboo from seed is simple and satisfying. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in bright light with steady moisture. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
It comes from warm, moist forests of the eastern asia, which is the best clue to the conditions it enjoys in cultivation. Moso Bamboo earns its space through character rather than fuss. Young plants want steady water; older plants take conditions as they come.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Moso Bamboo: