Fargesia robusta T. P. Yi

The shoots are edible and are an important source of food for the giant panda. The culms provide material for weaving.

Rhizome neck 9–20 cm. Culms 2–7 m, 1–3 cm in diam.; internodes terete, 15–30 cm, initially white powdery; wall 3–5 mm thick; supra-nodal ridges weakly prominent; sheath scar very prominent, ridged. Branches 15–20 per node. Culm sheaths deciduous or gradually deciduous, triangular-elliptic, shorter than internode, leathery, light yellow or yellow-brown setulose, setulae especially dense proximally, longitudinal ribs prominent, margins glabrous; auricles absent or small; oral setae absent, or few and deciduous; ligule truncate, 1–2 mm, initially densely ciliate; blade erect or reflexed, triangular or linear-lanceolate, glabrous. Leaves 2–4 per ultimate branch; sheath to 16 cm, glabrous, margins apically densely ciliate, apex broadly triangular; auricles absent; oral setae present; ligule purple, truncate, ca. 1 mm, glabrous; blade lanceolate, 6–23 × 0.5–2.3 cm, glabrous or abaxially sparsely pilose proximally, secondary veins 4–7-paired, transverse veins distinct, base cuneate, margins spinescent-serrulate. Inflorescence a condensed raceme, partially exserted from spathe; spikelets 5–11, 1–1.5 cm, rachilla internodes 1–2 mm; florets 2–4, green. Glumes 2, sparsely pilose, apex acuminate or long mucronate; lemma long mucronate at apex; palea keels serrulate; lodicules purple, margins ciliate, apex pubescent. Anthers yellow. Ovary ovoid, glabrous; style 1; stigmas 3. Caryopsis unknown. New shoots Jun–Aug.

W Sichuan.

* 1700–2800 m.

Fargesia robusta is a species of clumping bamboo in the family Poaceae, native to Sichuan, China. Typically 3 m (10 ft) but reaching 4.5 m (15 ft), and with a narrow growth form, it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental. A number of cultivars are commercially available, including 'Campbell', 'Pingwu' (Green Screen is derived from 'Pingwu'), 'Wenchuan', and 'Wolong'.

It is a food source for giant pandas but grows at too low an elevation for them to exploit, unless there has been a die-off of their usual species. It is a member of the Fargesia spathacea species complex, and may not be a distinct species.