Bambusero visitation
I spent the last day and a half hauling ass between Cortez Island and Saltspring Island to pick up a load of rare bamboos, which will form part of the basis of my self replicating art material supply system called ‘Means of Production’. I hung out with the local ‘bambuseros’ Doug Box and Naren Karter who supplied me with some botanical marvels.
Of note is the exquisite and rare Phyllostachys aureasulcata harbin which has culms that have a peculiar inner glow. Fargesia dracocephala, or Dragon’s head bamboo is native to the mountains of China at elevations of over 6,000 ft. The Fargesias are lovely weepsters that form part of the basic sustenance of the nearly extinct giant panda. Bamboo growers are deep ‘otaku’ in my experience. The characteristics distinguishing the many varieties can be very subtle and minute, such as the fuzzyness of the shoots or the number of hairs on a leaf. Taxonomic wrangling is commonplace and the scientific names are always being changed. The American Bamboo Society is a good place to go for further information on these fascinating plants.
Bambusa oldhamii near Hilo Hawaii, (Akaka Falls)
