Common name: Black Bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra Munro APNI* 
Description: Culms 3–6 m high, 1–2 cm diam, green at first, becoming speckled and changing to brownish or purplish black; internodes cylindrical, grooved on the branch-bearing side, 14–25 mm long, sparsely to densely soft-hairy, thinly covered with a white bloom, particularly below each node, but becoming glabrous with age.
Culm leaves with sheath slightly more persistent; auricles usually conspicuous, bristly along margins; ligules prominently convex in the middle, 2–2.5 mm long, ciliate; blade usually bent outward, triangular to lanceolate, slightly wavy-wrinkled, promptly deciduous.
Foliage leaves with sheath bearing distinct striations; auricles lacking; blade lanceolate, 7–10 cm long, 9–15 mm wide, usually glabrous or soft-hairy only towards base on upper surface and on petiole. Persistent in abandoned gardens and naturalized in several areas. Native of China.
Distribution and occurrence:
NSW subdivisions: *CC
Other Australian states: *Qld
The purplish black culms are used in making musical instruments, furniture and handicrafts in the places of origin.
Text by S. W. L. Jacobs & S. M. Hastings
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
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