OTATEA FIMBRIATA

 

18' height, Full Sun, 20 degrees F Minimum

 

       An attractive Mexican clumping bamboo, similar to Otatea acuminata except the leaves are larger, up to a foot long & 3/4" wide and the canes seem to be stiffer and more vertical, rather than  weeping as much as aztecorum.  Long purple bristles extend from the top of the leaf sheaths.  The ABS SoCal reference collection contained a plant as of 12/92.  A 5 gallon pot was sold at the '88 ABS auction for $85.  At the fall '92 SCABS show 2 - 5 gallon pots were offered for $50 each, but there were no buyers.  A thin, atypical plant in a 10 gallon pot sold at the spring '94 SCABS auction for $40.  Another small plant sold at the '94 auction in San Francisco for $35.  An 8" pot 2' tall sold for $40 at the '95 SCABS fall sale.

        The Bamboo Society of India published an article in early 1993 stating that there are large areas of privately owned plantations of this plant in the Goa area.  These plants are used to produce canes for basket weaving.