Phyllostachys rubromarginata, the reddish bamboo or red margin bamboo, is a species of bamboo in the family Poaceae. It is native to Central China, specifically Guangxi and Guizhou.
Name Its common name comes from the colorization of the margins of the newly sprouted culm sheaths, exhibiting a reddish stripe. It was classified by the Smithsonian's Floyd McClure in 1940. In China, it is named hongbian zhu or nuer zhu (maiden's bamboo).Phyllostachys rubromarginata, Das Bambus-Lexikon, at Bambus-Informationszentrum.
Description Red margin bamboo is a cold-hardy, temperate mountain bamboo which grows and spreads quickly, creating a tall screen, and reproducing by running underground rhizomes.
Phyllostachys rubromarginata culms may reach as high as , while in China, it is reported as high as . Mature culms grow from diameter with dark green internodes apart.South China Botanical Garden Checklist, (eFlora), Phyllostachys rubromarginata McClure: 红竹 . It is cold tolerant to between .Lewis Bamboo: Phyllostachys rubromarginata (Red Margin Bamboo). Bambus-Lexikon, ibid.
Usage and distribution Its high-quality timber is used in basket making, and has become a popular ornamental plant in North America. The shoots are edible.Plants for a Future Database. It grows wild in Guangxi and Guizhou as scrub and along banks of gullies. It is commonly cultivated in Henan, China.
References
Lingnan University Science Bulletin. Canton [Guangzhou] 9:44. 1940