#Moso bamboo plant series

Chimonobambusa quadrangularis: Square bamboo.Take a look at some of these other pages to learn more.

#Moso bamboo plant series

This is part of an ongoing series about selected bamboo species. (See our article on Giant Bamboo to learn more.) And when people speak of bamboo growing two or three feet a day, Moso is one of the varieties that can actually do that. When you see bamboo scaffolding on skyscrapers in Hong Kong and China, it’s very likely Moso. When you hear about bamboo clothing and bamboo flooring, these are products of Moso. Moso is nothing new, but in recent years it has sparked a revolution in agriculture, textiles and construction. The common name, Moso, comes from the Chinese mao zhu, which also means hairy bamboo. But until recently it had been listed as Phyllostachys pubescens, meaning ‘hairy bamboo’. The scientific name, Phyllostachys edulis, means something like ‘edible bamboo’.

In ideal conditions, this giant grass can grow three feet a day and reach 100 feet tall. Widely used in the production of flooring, textiles and building materials, Moso is arguably the most economically important bamboo species in the world. Phyllostachys edulis, better known as Moso Bamboo, is a prevalent species of timber bamboo, native to China and Taiwan. But Moso Bamboo, also known as Phyllostachys edulis, is one species of bamboo worth raving about. Some are thin, wispy and ornamental, while others may be massive, thorny and industrial. In fact, there are some 1,500 different species and cultivars of bamboo with an enormous range of qualities and characteristics.

When people talk about bamboo, they often speak in hyperbole, describing the plant’s astronomical growth rate and its mind-boggling variety of uses.