Bambusa Ventricosa
"Buddha Belly Bamboo"

It seems that I am everybody's first favorite Bamboo! I am a mysterious vigorous clumping plant, but I have a split personality. I have 2 modes of growth; (1) Large, straight, tall culms; (2) Shorter, knobby culms.  No one has determined what causes the difference. Sometimes type (1) will turn into type (2), and vice-versa. Plants sold with my name are very mixed in size and habit of growth, so much so that people hesitate to guarantee how big or what the mature plant will look like.

When grown in a container and stressed for water, I will often grow with short fattened culms, which give me my common name. When grown outdoors with plenty of water, I can become quite large, sending up straight, tall culms with no sign of a buddha's belly in sight!