Micronesian Names by Islands or Island Groups: Bambuu or Esel (Palau), Moor (Yap), Piao tituka, Tituka, Piao lahe or Hale Piao (Mariana Islands), Bwai (Carolinian), Pehri or Pehri en sapahn (Pohnpei), Bae or Koba (Marshall Islands), Te kaibaba (Kiribati)
Description: Bambusa blumeana is a perennial, woody, tree-like bamboo species that rarely develops into a woody climber. It grows in dense clumps and has thorns around the lower branches, up to 1-2 m on the stem (culm) base. This useful bamboo can reach heights up to 15-25 m (45-75 ft) and has variable stem diameters, 10-20 cm (4-8 in), and stem wall thicknesses of about 0.5-3 cm (Stone 1970).
Distribution: B. blumeana is believed to have originated in Indonesia, and is mainly a tropical species. It is adapted to humid or dry tropical areas along river banks, hill slopes, and freshwater creeks. It was brought to some Micronesian Islands by people due to a large extent because of its multiple uses. This bamboo species also is last believed to have considerable potential for the rehabilitation of marginal lands and can be used to border agricultural areas as “living fences.”
Uses by Island or Island Group: This large grass (Poaceae) species is a useful but spiny bamboo species in the genus Bambusa; for example, shoots from this bamboo species are edible and consumed as a vegetable in some societies. For additional information about the use of bamboo species in Micronesia, also see Bambusa vulgaris.
Uses in Palau: In Palau, some rafts have been traditionally made out of bamboo (see more under B. vulgaris).
Uses in Yap: In Yap, common rafts used for a variety of purposes including fishing and marine gathering activities have and still are made out of bamboo. Bamboo stems (culms) are also used in Yapese traditional dances (see more under B. vulgaris).
Uses in Mariana Islands: Bambusa blumeana (“Hale Piao”) is reportedly used by traditional healers in Guam in medicinal preparations combining parts of a number of different species including this introduced bamboo; “the roots of this thorny bamboo are used” (McMakin 1978:31).
