Plant · GBIF taxon 7661971
Common Bamboo
Bambusa vulgarisAlso known as Golden Bamboo, Yellow Bamboo, Feathery Bamboo
Common bamboo forms dense, arching clumps of massive woody culms that anchor riverbanks and stabilize slopes against tropical downpours. Individual stems can shoot up to half a meter in a single day during peak monsoon surges, relying on vast underground rhizome networks for energy. Unlike many monocarpic running bamboos, this clumper flowers rarely and irregularly across populations, relying predominantly on vigorous vegetative expansion to colonize tropical lowlands.
TropicalFast-GrowingPerennial
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—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Autotrophic (Photosynthetic)
Predators
- Asian Elephant
- Giant Panda
- Bamboo Weevil
ThreatsOverharvesting of wild stands, land clearing, and riverbank development
HabitatsTropical riverbanks, moist lowland valleys, forest edges, and rural homesteads
Life spanPerennial (individual culms live 7–10 years; rhizomes survive decades)
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- OrderPoales
- FamilyPoaceae
- GenusBambusa
- SpeciesBambusa vulgaris
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Clump Growth: Look at the base of the clump to see closely spaced culms, a hallmark of non-invasive pachymorph rhizomes.
- Shoot Emergence: Visit after early monsoon rains to spot freshly sprouted, sheath-covered shoots expanding rapidly.
Image unavailableSame Genus 
Herbivore Yathin S Krishnappa / CC BY-SA 3.0 · cc-by-saSame Family 
Same Family (c) Eric Knight, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Eric Knight · cc-by
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