油竹子 you zhu zi

Rhizome neck 1–3 cm. Culms 4–7 m, 1–2 cm in diam.; internodes terete, 28–35 cm, initially white powdery, glabrous, longitudinal ribs very prominent; wall 1.5–2.5 mm thick; supra-nodal ridges weakly prominent or prominent; sheath scar prominent. Branches 5–10 per node, slender; buds oblong, margins ciliate. Culm sheaths persistent, much longer than internodes, proximally leathery, distally papery and sparsely brown setulose, longitudinal ribs greatly prominent, margins rolled, initially densely ciliate, apex linear and narrow; auricles absent; oral setae erect or curved, white-gray; ligule truncate or convex, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; blade readily deciduous, reflexed, linear, glabrous, margins usually serrulate. Leaves 3–5 per ultimate branch; sheath glabrous or distally sparsely pilose; auricles absent; oral setae few, erect or curved, yellow-brown, 2–3 mm; ligule convex; external ligule white-gray pubescent; blade narrowly lanceolate, 3.4–9.5 × 0.3–0.7 cm, abaxially proximally gray pubescent, secondary veins 2- or 3-paired, transverse veins distinct, base cuneate, margins spinescent-serrulate. Inflorescence unknown. New shoots Jul–Aug.

* 800–1600 m. W Sichuan.

This species is sometimes considered a synonym of Fargesia ferax, but it would appear to be a somewhat smaller bamboo with some slightly different characters.

The culms are used for making furniture and farm tools. The shoots are a source of food for the giant panda.