Bamboo - Bambusa spinosa Roxb.
Botany
Stems are 10-25 meters high, 8-15 cm diameter, the basal parts surrounded by branched, inteerlaced and spiny branches. Leaves are 10-20 cm long, 1-2 cm wide. Rare flowering also occurs at the nodes. Panicles are large. Spikelets are slender, compressed and 2-3 cm long.
Stems are 10-25 meters high, 8-15 cm diameter, the basal parts surrounded by branched, inteerlaced and spiny branches. Leaves are 10-20 cm long, 1-2 cm wide. Rare flowering also occurs at the nodes. Panicles are large. Spikelets are slender, compressed and 2-3 cm long.
Distribution
At low and medium altitudes in settled areas throughout the Philippines.
Parts utilized:
Stems, roots, leaves.
Constituents and Properties
Emollient, diuretic and diaphoretic, emmenagogue, astringent.
Leaves are considered stimulant, aromatic, tonic, emmenagogue, anthelmintic and aphrodiasiac.
The bark is astringent and used in hemorrhoids, nausea and vomiting.
Leaves are rich in hydrocyanic and benzoic acids.
Uses
Folkloric
• Decoction of leaves as emmenagogue, to induce lochia after childbirth.
• Decoction (20 gms for 1 liter ofwater; 3 cups daily) of stems of young shoots applied externally for inflammed joints.
• Decoction of leaves used to stimulate menstruation; also used for intestinal worms.
• Poultice of young shoots used for dislodgement of worms from ulcers.
• Decoction of roots used for anuria.
• Decoction of shoots taken for respiratory ailments.
• Poultice of tender shoots used for cleaning wounds. Decoction or juice of leaves applied to wounds.
• Decoction of tender shoots used as abortifactient in the first month and in the last month, to induce labor, and to facilitate placental expulsion.
• In India, decoction of leaves used for diarrhea.
Livestock
• In India, for ethnoveterinary use, a handful of leaves once a day for two to three days.
Nutrition
The young shoots (labong) are edible as vegetables, the seasonal ingredient in atchara preparations.
Others
• Bambusa spinosa is the most commonly used specie of bamboo in the Philippines.
• Used in the building of bamboo houses, furniture and household utensils.
Availability
Cultivated or wildcrafted.
0 Response to "Bamboo - Bambusa spinosa Roxb."
Post a Comment