Species native to Australia

When people think of bamboo, they usually think of Asia, but unbeknownst to most, Australia actually has 3 species of native bamboo plants. The first being Bambusa arnhemica. Second is Mullerochloa moreheadiana. Coming in third we have the Neololeba atra. All of these native species are from northern Australia.

Three native species

Bambusa arnhemica

This species grows in the north-west of the Northern Territory. It is a robust clumper, grows up to 12m in height, has large culms up to 12cm in diameter, and is thorny.

Mullerochloa moreheadiana

The Mullerochloa moreheadiana can be found in Queensland in Mackay, Daintree, Iron Range and Torres Strait. It forms clumps and grows up to 12m. Culms will get up to 4cm in diameter however they are thin walled. It doesn’t shoot out basal branches but makes up for this with large leaves.

Neololeba atra

The Neololeba atra comes from Queensland’s wet tropics, mainly the Daintree and Innisfail regions. It is scandent and loosely clumping with culms up to 4.5cm in diameter. It’s behavior is not typical in that primary branches often produce their own culms called culm sequences.

A fourth native bamboo plant?

Because these three species have been confined to remote tropical regions of the continent they are little known and have received almost no scientific attention until recently. There is also much debate over the claimed fourth native Australian bamboo called Schizostachyum sp.

Current evidence suggests that it is not in fact native to Australia from Torres Strait. That the current populations are remnants of disused plantations. Consequently, to prove that it is in fact an Australian native bamboo plant we have to do more research.

When the first white settlers arrived, native bamboo plants already grew prolifically in Australia. European explores described bamboo plants as growing in abundance.

First uses

Aboriginal people of northern Australia got a lot of use out of bamboo plants. They created with the culms: spear shafts, didgeridoos, smoking pipes, water carriers, ceremonial frames, rafts and wood carving chisels.

Furthermore some claim that Aboriginals introduced bamboo to Australia. Possibly using bamboo rafts to cross the waters.

Trading of bamboo ran from the east into Arnhem Land, plus, south and south-west as far as Kimberley. The Balamumu people from Caledon Bay specialised in the craft of producing bamboo fighting spears.

No evidence yet has arisen to suggest however that Aboriginal people maximised bamboo culm shoots or seeds as a source of food. This is in stark contrast to bamboo cultures of Asia.

Bamboo plants in Australia today

Now thanks to importation, people are able to cultivate hundreds of different species of bamboo plants across Australia.

By far Australia’s most popular variety is the Gracilis Slender Weaver Bamboo.

The most popular bamboo plant in Australia

The Gracilis Slender Weaver ticks all the boxes. It is drought resistant, pest resistant and frost resistant. Because gracilis plants are able to tolerate a variety of soil types and weather extremes, you can grow gracilis almost Australia wide.

Gracilis’ upright slender culms make the Gracilis Slender Weaver perfect for privacy screening. It can screen out a single floor house, or even a double floor house.

You can prune the Gracilis Slender Weaver to your desired height or leave it to grow free where it will reach about 8m tall. However, when kept within the confines of a root barrier and with yearly trimming, gracilis plants provide a thick, green, natural hedge worthy of being featured in any plant magazine.

You can start your own privacy screen with Gracilis Slender Weaver bamboo plants here.

Or have a look here for some interesting further reading on bamboo plants in Australia.