Flowering of a bamboo species, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, with an estimated 120-year flowering cycle in Saijo Basin, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

Abstract

In recent years, the flowering of a bamboo, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis has begun for the first time in about 120 years throughout Japan. Since 2020, we also noticed that the flowering of some bamboo groves of the species in Saijo Basin, where the campus of Hiroshima University is located. Through the virtual exploration using Google Street View and on-site surveys, we identified the eight of bamboo groves that bloomed from the year 2020 to 2021. Flowering started in spring or autumn, and most of the flowering stands died within a few months. To date, no regeneration of plants has been observed through seedlings. In this study, in addition to observing the morphology of flowers, precise longitude and latitude of the locations of the flowering bamboo groves were recorded for future follow-up studies.