Bambusa vulgaris
Common name: Common bamboo · Golden bamboo · Feathery bamboo
Bambusa vulgaris is a giant tropical clumping bamboo with smooth, glossy green culms up to 10 cm in diameter, and is probably the most widely cultivated bamboo in the world. Its exact wild origin is uncertain because it has been grown and spread by people for millennia, though it likely comes from southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. It is now pantropical, grown for screens, windbreaks, construction poles, and edible shoots, and its golden form 'Vittata' (painted bamboo), with yellow culms striped in green, is a favorite ornamental.
Care summary
Sun
Full sun to partial shade; best growth and culm color in full sun
Water
Water regularly while establishing; tolerates brief dry spells once mature
Soil
Rich, moist, well-drained loam; adapts to most soils
Hardiness
Zones 9–12
Mature height
10–20 m (33–65 ft)
Pet safe
Generally considered non-toxic to cats and dogs
Difficulty
Moderate
Propagation
By clump or culm division; rarely sets seed
Fun facts
- Bambusa vulgaris flowers only after intervals of decades, and it almost never sets viable seed, so it is spread entirely by human-planted divisions — one reason botanists still debate where it is truly native.
- The cultivar 'Vittata' (painted bamboo) has bright golden-yellow culms randomly striped with deep green, and is one of the most planted ornamental bamboos in the tropics.
- A dwarf form called 'Wamin' (Buddha's belly bamboo) has short, swollen internodes that make each culm look like a row of stacked bellies.
- Its young shoots are edible after boiling to remove bitterness and cyanogenic compounds, and its strong, straight poles have long been used for scaffolding, fencing, and rafts.