Scientific Name: Phyllostachys nigra
Common Name: blackstem bamboo
Family Name: Poaceae
Origin: S.E. Asia / Japan / China
Hardiness Zone: Zone 7: (-18 to -12 °C)
Plant Type: Bamboo, Poales (grass-like)
Mature Size: 7 - 10m x 5 - 7m (height x width)
Habit: Arching, Dense, Spreading, Stiffly upright, Twiggy
Form: Oval - vertical
Texture: Medium - fine
Landscape Uses: Accent plant, Container planting, Cut flower or foliage, Filler, Group or mass planting, Hedge row, Mixed shrub border, Screening, Specimen plant, Summer interest, Tall background, Woodland margin
Exposure: Full sun, Part sun/part shade, Filtered shade
Soil or Media: Acidic, Humus rich, Well-drained
Leaves: Simple, Alternate, Soft flexible, Glabrous, Lanceolate, Entire
Flowers: Spikelet, Brown, May
Fruit: Grain (caryopsis), Brown, Jul-Aug
Key ID Features:
Initially lump forming but then spreading after a few years; stems green/turn black/purple, round with flat groove on one side, nodes 2-ridged; leaves upright, most <8cm long x 1.2cm wide, lance-shaped, dark green, feathery.