Shibataea kumasasa (Steud.) Makino

Stems erect, but very zigzagged, 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 ft high, very much flattened between the joints, 1⁄8 in. in diameter, the central hollow only large enough to admit a horse hair; joints 1 to 31⁄2 in. apart. Branches three or four at each joint, 1 to 21⁄2 in. long, bearing one to three leaves. Leaves narrowly ovate, broadly tapered at the base, slenderly at the apex, 3 to 4 in. long, 3⁄4 to 1 in. wide, glossy dark green and glabrous above, slightly glaucous and downy beneath, both margins toothed; secondary veins, five to seven each side the midrib.

Native of Japan; cultivated by Messrs Veitch at Coombe Wood in the 1870s as “Bambusa viminalis”, and probably introduced for them during the previous decade by John Gould Veitch. A pretty bamboo, being of a neat, tufted habit. It is one of the most distinct of all hardy bamboos, especially in its sturdy, zigzag stems, the great proportionate width of the leaves, their length of stalk, and the uniformly short branches.