Golden Bamboo
Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl.
Poaceae
Location in our garden



Overview
Golden bamboo originated in the Old World, possibly in tropical Asia. It is the most commonly cultivated bamboo in the tropics and subtropics, but it is naturally found or naturalized on river banks. It is the most common cultivated bamboo in South-East Asia, found everywhere in villages, on river banks, and as an ornament in cities.
Vernacular Names
Golden bamboo (English), Bambu kuning/ yellow culms (Indonesia), Bariala (Bangladesh), Long tou zhu (Chinese), Bois bambou (French), Bakal (India), Tamelang (Malay), Butong (Philippines), Phai-luang (Thai).
Agroecology
Bambusa vulgaris often naturally occurs or naturalized on river banks, roadsides, wastelands and open ground in areas with annual precipitation ranging from 1,500 to 3,800 mm and in well-drained soils with pH ranging from 4.5 to 7.5. usually at low altitudes (below 1,200 m altitude). It grows under a wide variety of environmental conditions, growing along rivers and lakes in almost permanently wet conditions.
Morphology
- Stems - slightly zig-zag, wall 7 - 15 mm thick, glossy green,yellow, or yellow with green stripes, nodes oblique, slighly swollen.basal ones covered with aerial roots. Braches arising from midculm nodes upward, occasionaly also at lower nodes. Culm sheath more or less broadly triangular, 15 - 45 cm x 20 cm, upper ones longest.
- Leaves - blade, 6-30 cm long, 1-4 wide, glabrous; ligule a subentire rim 0.5-1.5 mm; auricles small rounded lobes, with a few bristles 1-3 mm.
- Flowers - usually borne on a leafless branch of a leafless culm or on a culm with small leaves, bearing small groups of pseudospikelets at the nodes, 2-6 cm apart; spikelets 12-19 (-35) mm long, laterally flattened, appearing strongly 2-cleft, comprising 5-10 perfect florets and a terminal vestigial floret.
Cultivation
Vegetative propagation of this plant is by clump division, by rhizome, stem and branch cuttings, by layering and by tissue culture. Stem or branch cuttings are the simplest and most practiced propagation technique.
Chemical Constituents
Flavonoids, phytosterol, phitophenol, holocellulose, alpha cellulose, lignin, phenolic acid, lactones, triterpenoid, alkaloids.
Benefits
- The stems are used as a rheumatism treatment.
- Shoots are used to treat malaria and abscesses.
- The bark is astringent and emmenagogue.
- Chloroform leaf extract is used against mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- Tabasheer is used to prevent infantile epilepsy, fever and hematuria, kidney problems, bark astringent and emmenagogue (to induce or improve menstrual flow), and as an abortifacient.
- The leaves are used to treat problems with the heart and malaria. They are boiled and used to relieve fevers in a bath.
- Women use a decoction of boiled leaves as a 'clean-out' for dilation and curettage and help remove the afterbirth.
- In treating a fever, the leaves are boiled like hot tea, which causes profuse transpiration.
- The sap is used to treat hematuria and fever.
- It is used in the treatment of various inflammatory disorders in Indian folk medicine.
- For anti-fertility effects in India, leaves extract is taken orally to decrease sperm count.
Simplisia
- Siapkan rebung bambu kuning, cuci bersih dari kotoran yang menempel dan bahan asing yang tidak diinginkan dengan air bersih yang mengalir.
- Potong kecil rebung lalu keringkan di bawah sinar matahari (secara tidak langsung) dengan dilapisi kain berwarna hitam atau dikeringanginkan di atas bejana dalam ruangan hingga kering (sekitar 7 hari). Sortasi kering.
- Simpan dalam wadah bersih dan kedap udara.
Plant Parts Used



Traditional Recipes

1. 1. Demam
- Cuci bersih 1 genggam rebung bambu lalu parut. Remas dengan madu 1 sdm lalu saring.
- Ramuan diminum 2 kali sehari, masing-masing 2 sendok makan.

2. 2. Batuk
- Potong bambu seperlunya. Ambil air bambu kuning 4-5 tetes,diamkan 1 hari.
- Minum 1 kali sehari.
Reference Sources
- CABI. (No date). Invasive Species Compendium. Bambusa vulgaris (common bamboo). https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/8398. 03-12-2020.
- Guadua Bamboo. (No date). Bambusa vulgaris. https://www.guaduabamboo.com/blog/bambusa-vulgaris. 03-12-2020.
- Stuartxchange. (2018). Philippine Medicinal Plants. Kauayan-kiling http://www.stuartxchange.org/Kauayan-kiling. 03-12-2020.
- Fern, Ken. (2019). Useful Tropical Plants: Bambusa vulgaris. http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bambusa+vulgaris. 17-03-2021.
- Dransfield S, Widjaja EA, (Editors), 1995. Plant resources of South-East Asia No. 7. Bamboos. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 189 pp. 12 Oktober 2021.