DENDROCALAMUS BRANDISII

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40' height, Full Sun, 30 degrees F Minimum, Clumper.

        Rare thick-walled plant with edible shoots from India. Looks like a small Dendrocalamus Asper.  Canes are velvety & leaves are big & have velvety undersides. Said to be more cold-tolerant than Asper, so can perhaps be grown over a wider range of climates.  Jean Harrington in St Pete Fl had a 1 year-old 8' tall plant that lost its leaves but regrew new ones after one night of 27 degrees in 1955.  Does well for Gary Stinson in Menifee, California, which regularly gets below freezing in the winter.  Grown in Thailand for production of edible shoots, construction & pulp.

        First imported by ABS in 1991. Eight plants were sold at the fall 1992 SCBABS sale, 1 gallon pots for $50 & 5 gallon pots for $75.   30 collectors tried to get one. At the spring 1994 SCABS sale a 15 gallon pot was offered for $100 but found no buyers.