Tall green stems of bamboo surrounded by other plants growing near a white metal spiral staircase

Gigantochloa verticillata

Giant bamboo

Family: Poaceae

Other common names: 花巨竹 (Chinese Simplified), giant stripy bamboo (English), bambu gombong (Indonesian), pring surat (Javanese), awi andong (Sundanese)

IUCN Red List status: Not Evaluated

Plant description

Giant bamboo grows in clumps of tall, striped-green stems that can reach heights of over 25m. The stems are usually striped yellow and green. Branches grow from nodes on the stem, which occur in 50cm intervals. The leaves are lance-shaped, around 23cm and 3cm wide, and grow in clusters on branches that extend from the nodes. Flowers occur rarely and are formed of a cluster of small buds.

Read the scientific description of giant bamboo

A collection of giant bamboo stems growing from the ground — Giant bamboo (Gigantochloa verticillata), Wibowo Djatmiko on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

Tall green stems of bamboo reaching upwards in a white metallic glasshouse surrounded by other green plants — Giant bamboo (Gigantochloa verticillata) in the Palm House at Kew Gardens, Eddie Johnston © RBG Kew

Plant uses

Food and drink

The young shoots of giant bamboo can be eaten as a vegetable while still tender.

Materials and fuels

Giant bamboo is used in Indonesia to make many different objects - including buildings, furniture, toothpicks and chopsticks.

Its stems are used to produce charcoal and biochar, a type of charcoal that is being used to enhance soil health for plants.

Did you know?

Other giant bamboo species in the same genus, like Gigantochloa apus and Gigantochloa atroviolacea, are used for weaving baskets and crafting musical instruments.
A recent study has found that charcoal made from giant bamboo could be used to purify biogas before it is used as fuel.
Giant bamboo forests are an important natural habitat for wildlife and can be vital for preventing lowland areas from flooding.
Giant bamboo typically lives for 50 to 60 years without flowering, until blossoming in its final few years before dying.

Where in the world?

A map of the world showing where giant bamboo is native and introduced to

Native: Borneo, Cambodia, Jawa, Malaya, Myanmar, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam

Introduced: China South-Central, China Southeast, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras

Habitat:

Tropical monsoon forests across Southeast Asia

Find it in our gardens

Kew Gardens

A botanic garden in southwest London with the world’s most diverse living plant collection.

Palm House

View map of Kew Gardens

Foliage: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

Our work

Bamboos are hard to identify and name correctly, but it's critical when making sure that commercially used bamboo is coming from sustainable sources.

Kew has worked with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) to publish the World Checklist and Atlas of Bamboos and Rattans. The list included many species that were not known before. Anyone working with bamboos will now easily be able to find the correct plant name, and confirm where the plants grow.