Nov,2007, just after the rains. Along the south western fence and western edge of the entry pond. 11 numbers planted

Culms were prised out of a 25 year old clump at Muttukkadu garden. Almost all of them settled in within ten days.

Has beautiful green stripes on golden yellow skin.

http://tinyurl.com/28xz6b" target=_blank">Google Images http://www.lewisbamboo.com/caulis.html" target="_blank">Lewis Bamboo- beautiful images and notes

2007 - 60 nos

Growmore Biotech, Hosur - on the outskirts of Bangalore

http://tinyurl.com/39bvym" target="_blank">Google images

Growmore Biotech, Bangalore from whom I bought 60 saplings has developed the protocol for tissue culturing this thornless variety. This a very thick walled bamboo suitable for construction if properly cured after harvest. They say market ready bamboos can be harvested from the third year

2007: Over several months I carried dozens of bundles of 30" long cuttings from my Muttukkadu farm and had it planted along about 60% of the fence

Muttukkadu farm

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The plant is hardy and survives with little or no watering. Grows to become a dense hedge of up to 8' if trained. It is an evergreen and poisonous to ingest. Cattle does not browse it. Good fencing material.

The plant appears to have some potential as a biofuel. Extract from http://www.killerplants.com/plant-of-the-week/20050523.asp" target="_blank">this page: "Srilekha De, Archana Bag, and Subhendu Mukherji have examined the devil's backbone as a petrocrop, an alternative to crude oil and coal. Using petroleum ether, benzene, and ethyl acetate, the team extracted various weights of hydrocarbons from dried devil's backbone. The first extraction and distillation (soaking in petroleum ether and distilling the PE away) resulted in a waxy hydrocarbon with interesting properties. When burned, it produces larger amounts of heat than any currently used fossil fuel. Coal produces slightly more than 7,000 calories of energy per gram, fuel oil about 11,000 calories/gram, and gasoline about 11,500 calories. But the waxy hydrocarbon from devil's backbone produces about 18,990 calories of heat per gram."