Family: Poaceae

Origin, Description & Uses:
Khasia bamboo is native to northeastern India and nearby parts of South Asia. This attractive, clumping bamboo has slender green culms and fine, arching foliage that creates a soft, fountain-like appearance in the landscape. Unlike running bamboos, it grows in tight, slowly expanding clumps rather than spreading aggressively through long underground rhizomes. It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical gardens, where it works well as a privacy screen, windbreak, hedge, or specimen plant. Its dense root system can also help stabilize soil on slopes and reduce erosion.

Risks & Threats:
Khasia bamboo is considered low risk and is not known to be naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands. Because it is a clumping bamboo, it does not exhibit the invasive spreading behavior associated with many running bamboo species. There is no evidence that it forms dense stands in natural areas or displaces native vegetation in Hawaiʻi. As with any non-native plant, responsible planting and routine maintenance—such as monitoring and managing clump size—are recommended to help ensure it remains a well-behaved addition to the landscape.

High Risk Traits:

• Thrives in subtropical climates
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• May produce viable seeds that can be dispersed by gravity, wind or people
  
• May resprout after repeated cutting or harvesting of shoots and culms (may be difficult to remove from unwanted areas)

Low Risk Traits:

• No negative impacts have been documented
  
• Edible shoots
  
• Fodder source in native range
  
• Non-toxic
  
• Landscaping and ornamental value
  
• Will only flower after long life-span
  
• A clumping bamboo that will not spread vegetatively and is not likely to be spread accidentally due to sterility for most of its life cycle