Phyllostachys arcana is a bamboo from Central and South China introduced to the U.S. by McClure in 1926 for the USDA, and described by him in 1945. In U.K. conditions it tends not to reach its full potential height of 8m, 26ft, and may be slow to spread in cooler areas. Its dark green culms age to a yellowish green and are prone to geniculations (zigzags) lower down. It is not as widely available as the cultivar ‘Luteosulcata’, but as seedlings produced by the flowering cultivar tend to revert to the species, seed-grown plants may be available. The Latin name ‘arcana’ means secret or hidden and refers to the lack of distinguishing characteristics of this species – though to those of us who are not botanists this could apply to most green Phyllostachys.
