Bamboo is more than just an amazing plant. It’s more like an entire family, made up of nearly 2,000 plants. But technically, according to the botanical taxonomy, bamboo is actually a sub-family within the grass family, Poaceae.
The subfamily Bambusoideae includes 3 tribes, roughly 100 genera, and approximately 1,400 species of bamboo. Botanists don’t always agree on the classifications, so the numbers can vary. Furthermore, many species have multiple cultivars, or subspecies, so the total number of bamboo varieties is probably closer to 2,000.
In the following directory, we’ll break down the multitude of bamboos, genus by genus, to see how they all fit in the great web of life. Three separate tables, one for each bamboo tribe, will cover the most important genera of bamboo, according to the classifications that most botanists agree on.
NOTE: Many of the most popular and most important genera on these tables will include a link to a more in-depth article focussing on that particular genus.
Botanical taxonomy of bamboo
Before we launch into the genera (plural of genus) and species of bamboo, it’s useful to see where bamboo fits into the overall classification system.
- Kingdom: Plant
- Phylum: Angiosperms (flowering plants, as opposed to Gymnosperms, such as conifer trees)
- Class: Monocots (their seeds contain one embryonic leaf, as opposed to Dicotyledons with two)
- Order: Poales (includes grasses, sedges and bromeliads)
- Family: Poaceae, aka Graminieae (grasses)
- Subfamily: Bambusoideae (the bamboo family)
- Tribes: Arundinarieae (temperate woody bamboo), Bambuseae (tropical woody bamboo), and Olyreae (herbaceous bamboo)
- Sub-tribes: some botanists use this division to divide the bamboo tribes into smaller units.
- Genus and Species: these are the two divisions that give us the binomial nomenclature, or scientific names of the plants, such as Phyllostachys nigra or Bambusa oldhamii.
Tribe Arundinarieae: Genera of temperate woody bamboo
Primarily native to China and the Far East, but also in Africa and North America, temperate bamboos can generally tolerate colder temperates. They come in all sizes, from towering giants to dwarfish ground covers. The majority of Arundinarieae bamboos have running rhizome systems (as opposed to clumping), enabling them to spread and proliferate quickly.
However, a handful of temperate bamboos have clumping rhizomes, making them difficult to classify. Not everyone accepts the genus Borinda, for example, which can belong to either tribe. Also, Yushania has pachymorph (clumping) rhizomes, but with longer necks and a spreading habit, so botanists aren’t quite sure where to place it. Such bamboos grow in what we call “open clumps”.
| Genus | Native habitat zones | Running or Clumping | Notes and characteristics |
| Acidosasa | China, Vietnam | running | known for edible shoots, sweet and sour |
| Arundinaria | North America | running | 3 American species, other species are questionable |
| Bashania | China, Vietnam | running | cold hardy, mountain varieties |
| Borinda | Himalayas, S China | clumping | close relation to Fargesia (questionable) |
| Chimonobambusa | China, Japan, Himalayas, Vietnam | running | unusual culms, square and knobby |
| Drepanostachyum | Himalayas, China, India | clumping | close relation to Himalayacalamus |
| Fargesia | China, Vietnam | clumping | extremely cold hardy |
| Himalayacalamus | Himalayas | clumping | medium sized ornamentals |
| Indocalamus | China, Vietnam, Japan | open clumps | smaller plants, larger leaves |
| Phyllostachys | China, Vietnam | running | hardy, vigorous, in all sizes |
| Pleioblastus | China, Japan | running | smaller plants, often striped |
| Pseudosasa | China, Japan, Vietnam | running | small to medium sized |
| Sasa | Japan | running | small plants, broad leaves |
| Sasaella | Japan | running | smaller plants |
| Semiarundinaria | China, Japan | running | tall and widespread |
| Shibataea | China | running | small and ornamental |
| Sinobambusa | China, Vietnam | running | medium sized plants |
| Thamnocalamus | Himalayas, Madagascar, S Africa | clumping | close relative to Fargesia |
| Yushania | Himalayas, Africa, China | open clumps | mountainous, formerly in Bambuseae tribe |
Tribe Bambuseae: Genera of tropical woody bamboo
Found throughout the tropic and subtropic climate zones of the earth, tropical bamboos can be among the most impressive varieties. For the most part, they grow with a clumping habit, and are far less prone to becoming invasive. We find native populations in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas, as well as such far flung corners as Madagascar and New Guinea.
| Genus | Native habitat zones | Running or Clumping | Notes and characteristics |
| Arthrostylidium | Central America | clumping | climbing growth habit |
| Bambusa | China, Taiwan, India, SE Asia, N Australia, New Guinea | clumping | huge variety, 150 species |
| Borinda | Himalayas, S China | clumping | disputed classification |
| Cathariostachys | Madagascar | clumping | 2 species, threatened by deforestation |
| Cephalostachyum | Asia, Madagascar | clumping | small, medium sized plants |
| Chusquea | Central and South America | clumping | open clumps, solid culms |
| Dendrocalamus | India, SE Asia | clumping | giant timber varieties |
| Dinochloa | SE Asia, Philippines | clumping | climbing, zigzag culms |
| Gigantochloa | China, India, New Guinea | clumping | giant timber types |
| Guadua | Central and South America | clumping | giant timber types |
| Melocanna | India, SE Asia | clumping | mass flowering event |
| Olmeca | Mexico | clumping | open clumps, fleshy fruits |
| Neomicrocalamus | southern China, northern India | clumping | climbing habit |
| Otatea | Mexico, Central America | clumping | small, ornamentals |
| Oxytenanthera | sub-Saharan Africa | clumping | drought tolerant |
| Schizostachyum | Asia, New Guinea, Madagascar | clumping | medium to large |
| Thyrsostachys | China, SE Asia | clumping | large timber types |
Tribe Olyreae: Tropical, herbaceous bamboo
This small tribe is more closely related to the tropical Bambuseae. They are something of a novelty and grow almost exclusively in the tropics of the New World, especially in the Amazon basin. Typically, they grow in the shady undergrowth of the jungles and rainforests. Unlike their woody cousins, these bamboos have soft, tender culms, and look more like small shrubs. They do not exhibit the same kinds of roots systems as their more developed relatives.
Botanists recognize 3 sub-tribes of herbaceous bamboo, and a total of 21 genera. Several of these genera are monotypic, meaning they only contain one species. These compact, exotic varieties have not been naturalized beyond their native habitats and are not grown by nurseries.
| Genus | Native habitat | Sub-tribe | Notes |
| Agnesia | Brazil, Colombia, Peru | Olyrinae | monotypic (only one species) |
| Arberella | Central and South America | Olyrinae | includes 7 species |
| Buergersiochloinae | South America, Africa, Madagascar | Buergersiochloinae | monotypic |
| Cryptochloa | throughout Latin America | Olyrinae | 8 species |
| Diandrolyra | Brazil | Olyrinae | 3 species |
| Ekmanochloa | Cuba | Olyrinae | 2 species |
| Eremitis | Brazil | Parianinae | monotypic |
| Froesiochloa | Brazil, the Guianas | Olyrinae | monotypic |
| Lithachne | Mexico to Paraguay, and Cuba | Olyrinae | 4 species |
| Maclurolyra | Panama, Colombia | Olyrinae | monotypic |
| Mniochloa | Cuba | Olyrinae | monotypic |
| Olyra | Neotropics and Africa | Olyrinae | 24 species |
| Pariana | Latin America | Parianinae | 29 species |
| Parodiolyra | South America | Olyrinae | 6 species |
| Piresiella | Cuba | Olyrinae | monotypic |
| Raddia | Brazil, the Guianas | Olyrinae | 9 species |
| Raddiella | Panama, South America | Olyrinae | 8 species |
| Rehia | Brazil, the Guianas | Olyrinae | monotypic |
| Sucrea | Brazil | Olyrinae | 3 species |
Further reading
If you’ve found this genus by genus directory of bamboo useful and interesting, you might also check out some of these other popular articles.
