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Dendrocalamus asper

Asper · Dragon Bamboo · Petung Bamboo · Giant Bamboo

Family PoaceaeGenus Dendrocalamus

A dense clump of thick gray-green bamboo culms with a garden label reading Dendrocalamus asper
The whole plantDvellakatCC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
bambooPlants of the World Online
Habit
GraminoidPLANTS Database
Native range
Andaman Is., Bangladesh, Borneo, China South-Central, China Southeast, Jawa and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Giant bamboo grows 15 to 20 m tall. Its large, very straight culms are used for heavy construction, and its young shoots are eaten as a vegetable: with moso bamboo in China, it is the most popular bamboo in Asia for edible shoots. Wikipedia: Dendrocalamus asper

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1998

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 8, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 28 days to germinate.

40% germination in 7–28 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1998 · 2nd Supplement, Dendrocalamus p. 28Public domain
Show the original text
Dendrocalamus (Poaceae). These are bamboos. Temperatures of 40 either in OS treatment or as a prior 3 m at 40 were deleterious and largely fatal and GA-3 was also deleterious. Light had no significant effect. D. asper germ. 70L(40% in 1-4 w) and 70D(26% in 1-3 w). Seeds DS 2 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement, 2nd Supplement, Dendrocalamus p. 28. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1998

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around March 15, 2027 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

No stated waiting before sowing. Then 21 days to germinate.

26% germination in 7–21 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1998 · 2nd Supplement, Dendrocalamus p. 28Public domain
Show the original text
Dendrocalamus (Poaceae). These are bamboos. Temperatures of 40 either in OS treatment or as a prior 3 m at 40 were deleterious and largely fatal and GA-3 was also deleterious. Light had no significant effect. D. asper germ. 70L(40% in 1-4 w) and 70D(26% in 1-3 w). Seeds DS 2 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd Supplement, 2nd Supplement, Dendrocalamus p. 28. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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