Chimonobambusa Marmorea
"Marbled Bamboo"

I am one of the most aggressive running bamboos you could ever set free in your garden. I have lovely marbled culm sheaths covering supple canes that can be from a light tannish green to a deep red, maroon or purple. I grow rapidly in good growing conditions, and my leaves are bright green and bushy - somewhat close together.

Originally from Japan, I am excellent as a hedge to form a privacy screen, and I reach a height of only about six feet, with culm diameters of 1/2 inch. Quite possibly, I am best in a container, where my dainty and dark colored culms with their marbled sheaths set off my glowing green leaves.

Even though I have a fairly narrow culm, I am very tough to pull up. My papery covering over the culms/stems can easily penetrate little fibers into your skin if you work with me without gloves on.

My family is Poaceae, Genus Chimonobambusa. Even though my brother, C. Quadrangularis (square stem bamboo) behaves very much like a clumping bamboo, I am an aggressive running (monopodial or leptomorph) type of bamboo that spreads variously, sending out underground runners, or rhizomes, which sometimes emerge far from the parent plant.