Bamboo as a Sustainable Building Material—Culm Characteristics and Properties

Bamboo culm is a renewable and lightweight material with high strength, particularly tensile strength. It is well accepted that bamboo culms have played a significant role in architecture because of their sustainable contribution. The culm characteristics and properties of three-year-old bamboo from five species (Dendrocalamus asper, Dendrocalamus sericeus, Dendrocalamus membranaceus, Thyrsostachys oliveri, and Phyllostachys makinoi) were investigated. The results show that each bamboo species has different culm characteristics along with culm length. Culm size, particularly the outer culm diameter and culm wall thickness, affects the ultimate load. These results confirm that a bigger culm with a thicker wall could receive more load. D. asper received the highest ultimate load, while T. oliveri received the lowest ultimate load. However, when calculating the test results for stress (load per cross-section area), P. Makinoi showed excellent mechanical properties, while D. asper showed the worst mechanical properties. This research promotes bamboo’s appropriate use for building applications and as a more sustainable material for architecture.

Two new species of Phyllachora (Phyllachoraceae, Phyllachorales) on bamboo from China

The genus Phyllachora is the largest genus in the family Phyllachoraceae. Phyllachora species are obligate biotrophic fungi with a tropical distribution. During our field surveys in Yunnan province of China, fifteen graminicolous Phyllachora species were collected. Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of ITS and LSU together with morphological characteristics, two new species, Phyllachora dendrocalami-membranacei sp. nov. on Dendrocalamus membranaceus and P. dendrocalami-hamiltonii sp. nov. on D. hamiltonii are described and illustrated. Phyllachora dendrocalami-membranacei is characterized by its dump-bell to ellipsoidal to ovoid ascospores (15–25 × 5–11 μm) while P. dendrocalami-hamiltoniicola is distinguished by its dump-bell to ellipsoidal ascospores (15–30 × 8–12 μm).

The hybrid origin of Phai Liang, a bamboo of recent introduction into horticulture in Southeast Asia, and a new nothogenus, ×Thyrsocalamus (Bambuseae: Bambusinae)

Phai Liang, a recent bamboo cultivar originating in Thailand and widely introduced to many parts of Malaysia and Singapore, has yet to be diagnosed scientifically. In this study, the partial nuclear Granule Bound Starch Synthase I (GBSSI) gene of Phai Liang was cloned and sequenced to investigate its hybrid origin. Its morphological characteristics were compared with those of its putative parental taxa. Based on both molecular and morphological evidence, Phai Liang is recognized as representing a new nothogenus and nothospecies, ×Thyrsocalamus liang. This circumscribes a hybridization complex with variable morphological characters which reflect different degrees of intergradation between the parental species, Dendrocalamus membranaceus and Thyrsostachys siamensis.

A Review on Major Types of Bamboo Communities in China

China was extremely rich in bamboo resources, many species were selected as representatives of the genus or the genus itself may serve as the type for classification, such as the formations of Dendrocalamus membranaceus.The paper summarized that major types in China were cool temperate bamboo forest, warm temperate bamboo forests and hot bamboo forests. The most common and typical types with high economic value had been included, which were Phyllostachys edulis, Fargesia spp, Neosinocalamus affinis, Dendrocalamus membranaceus.