Greek chimon – winter, bambusa – bamboo, referring to the late appearance of new shoots in areas where it grows naturally.
Rhizomes thin and spreading for short distances. Stems hollow, to 6 m or so tall, cylindrical or 4-edged (c. quadrangularis), the new shoots appearing in late summer to autumn. Sheaths without bristles. Nodal branches 3-many produced from the upper culms first. Leaves sometimes tessellated (nerves in a brick-like mosaic), surface bristles present or not. Spikelets with 0-2 glumes. Stamens 3. Stigmas 2.
A taxonomically unstable genus with species often placed in other genera.
Stems with a small hollow in the centre, sheaths persistent, marbled, and with smooth bristles; branches forming from the base of the stems upwards cf. Arundinaria, Semiarundinaria, Pleioblastus.
5-10 species from Japan, China and the Himalayas.
Source: (2005). Poaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
