Borinda boliana ==> Yushania boliana name change

[bambooweb]

There are a number of people asking about the name change from Borinda boliana to Yushania boliana.
Here is a copy of a letter sent last January.

Code: Select all

This species has always been a bit of a problem. It is reminding us 
that it is often quite difficult to place bamboo species in an 
appropriate genus. It is only when a newly introduced species has 
become well known and has reached its full stature in different sites 
that we can make a good judgement. With many genera there are 
somewhat vague boundaries, and the species that are furthest from the 
definitive species at the centre of the genera are the hardest to 
place.

If you have seen the draft FNA account, then you should have seen 
this, which is what I wrote in the latest version:

    "The elegant erect culms with dense, short branches form a delicate 
    screen. Initially cultivated under the misapplied and unpublished 
    name Himalayacalamus intermedius, this introduction, reportedly from 
    Sichuan, China via Fuji Bamboo Garden in Japan, was first described 
    as Yushania boliana by Demoly, then renamed Borinda boliana on the 
    assumption that it had short-necked rhizomes, as seen in 
    Himalayacalamus, and in Borinda (which Demoly includes in Yushania). 
    Mature specimens are now known to have much longer rhizomes in good 
    sites, and Yushania is felt to be the appropriate genus, the species 
    Yushania vigens T. P. Yi from W Yunnan being very similar 
    morphologically, and the spreading species Y. yunnanensis being 
    closely related in DNA results."

When I first saw it in England it was newly planted and not spreading 
at all, just sitting in quite a tight clump, and when I saw it at 
Karl Bareis's place in Bonnie Doon, it was also quite compact, maybe 
because it is quite dry there.  Therefore it went into Borinda to 
start off with. I didn't pay much attention to Dr Demoly having put 
it in Yushania as he places all Borindas in Yushania anyway, so his 
placement doesn't mean very much.

However I heard from Toni Grieb in Switzerland after I had put it 
into Borinda that he was unhappy with that decision and felt it was 
more similar to other Yushania species than the Borindas.

It has now reached about 4.5m tall in my garden and the culms are 
getting much further apart. Also the foliage is arranged in a fashion 
that is different from Borinda. The leaves point in all directions, 
and this is closer to the behaviour of leaves of species such as 
Yushania anceps and Y. maling.

While going through all the Yushania and Fargesia accounts for the 
Flora of China I also noticed the similarity between this species and 
Yushania vigens.  And in Grainne's phD thesis it came out close to 
Yushania yunnanensis, which spreads so much it looks almost like a 
Phyllostachys grove. This placement is shown in:

http://www.bamboo-identification.co.uk/html/temperate_phylogeny.html

I wouldn't like to say that any bamboo is certain to stay anywhere, 
but I think this one will sit in Yushania for the forseeable future.

Chris

[Markj]

About time TBH it's just soooo different to others in 'Borinda' .

[Jonathan Poston]

Hello Mark.

Is yours wandering about then yet?

I've looked at countless descriptions of this plant from nurseries in the States and Europe which all describe it as a clumper. The most Yushania type description states that it will make a 'well-behaved' grove. If it is anything like the Yushanias I know that will certainly not be the case.


I probably need to re-think where mine is situated and get a bit more barrier....