Otatea Acuminata Aztecorum
"Mexican Weeping Bamboo"

Because of my very attractive appearance, I am one of the great Bamboos.  My clumping habit with solid culms bending over from the weight of finely divided drooping leaves gives a pleasing feathery fountain-like effect. I'm a gracefully arching bamboo that can reach a maximum height of 20 feet. My canes can grow to a diameter of 1 1/2 inches and are densely clothed with very thin, narrow and long light green leaves lending me a soft, delicate appearance.

But delicate I am not, as you will soon see! I am drought resistant, and I like heat. I lose my leaves at 22 degrees F., but my rhizomes will probably take 0 degrees & still bounce back the next summer. I prefer growing in alkaline soil in the ground, where I will soon produce a dense mass of mature culms.

I can be pruned or trimmed to conform to your shape, but my natural form is exquisite, almost fernlike. I tolerate salty sea spray very well, making me a lacy and beautiful addition to oceanfront landscapes.

I am native to Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Nayarut, Jalisco, Michoácan and Guerrero provinces of Mexico. I flowered in the early 1990's producing viable seed that produced the plants that are now in cultivation.