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Saturday, February 15, 2003
Buddha’s Belly!
By Marilyn P. Rosario
GARDEN CONNECTION
During the Chinese New Year, the expression “Kung Hei Fat Choy” conveys the message of the season. Chinatown and some malls displayed bright red lanterns, red ribbons, carved goat figurines, jade carvings and most of all, the golden Buddha money god with the arms gleefully raised. Mention the word Buddha and what enters in one’s mind is a kind of bamboo popularly and mischievously called “Buddha’s belly” as it truly “resembles the abdomen of the divine statue.”
Sometime in the 1940’s, Dr. McClure, a USDA officer, while visiting China purchased a small bamboo plant in a Canton nursery and grew this in the USDA’s compound in Puerto Rico. The plant thrived well and by 1980’s, Dr. Soderstrom examined the flowering bamboo species and devoted much of his research to prove that it is a form of Bambusa tuloides ‘ventricosa’ or Bambusa ventricosa.
Buddha’s belly bamboo is considered a clumping type of bamboo with a zigzag pattern of growth and is estimated to reach 40 feet in height and an average of 2 ½ to 3 inch culms in diameter. It arches outwards like a huge fountain of green cascading leaves.
Culms start out as dark green in color, glossy and eventually turn golden when it
matures. Leaves on the lower part of the plant are pruned to show the smooth and uniform distended internodes.
The mysterious bamboo has two modes of growth: large, straight and tall culms (Type 1) and the other form, short and knobby culms (Type 2). Though it reverts from Type 1 to 2 or vice-versa, what causes the appearance is still unknown.
Although there is no rigid rule on preventing it from reverting to Type 1 to Type 2 or vice versa, certain measures have been discussed on how to retain the swollen internodes: the plant is stressed like confining the growing space as in bonsai, feeding with less water and fertilizer, and growing in poor soil. It has been recommended however, that straight culms, which do not show the distention, be pruned right away to prevent further growth of the Type 1 variety. Others believe that encouraging the growing of straight culms would over-power the culms with the knobby internodes.
Buddha’s belly bamboo is best appreciated when grown in a container dish as a bonsai plant. It is also used as a hedge for a good screen, prevents creek erosion and is suitable as a windbreak. Leaves are also rich in protein and recommended as fodder to feed animals. While we are so immersed in the current use of this type of bamboo, let us not forget the trendy, very expensive signature handbags with Buddha’s belly bamboo handles. The Chinese can grow these handles as if it were a made to order thing, down to the right diameter of the handle.
There is no guarantee that the knobby swollen bamboo one has purchased will always retain the appearance of a true Buddha’s belly, as the plant often changes its course and often reverts to the unwanted form. My 15-year-old plant finally decided to shed its swollen internodes and go straight; and just like the old saying “Better luck next time,” buying another plant seemed the most logical option. Hope for the best that luck is on one’s side the second time around.
(February 15, 2003 issue)
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