Vietnamosasa

Vietnamosasa is a genus of small to very small bamboo with 3 species found exclusively in South-East
Asia. The genus is comprised of 3 species and ranges from Vietnam in the east to Thailand in the west;
Laos in the north and Cambodia in the south. The three species are Vietnamosasa ciliata, V. darlacensis
and V. pusilla. V. pusilla is the smallest member of the family, reaching .5 meters to 1 meter at maturity. V.
ciliata culms can reach 4 meters in height but normally much smaller. Genus leaves are a light green and
lanceolate with average leaf width 1 cm and length reaching over 12cm. When growing in understory
conditions of limited light, leaves tend to be larger than officially recorded. While Kew Garden's World
Grass Index lists it as a leptomorph species, further studies are needed to clarify this (see photo below).

In most areas where Vietnamosasa occur, they are under storey plants that grow in limited light environments.
They are extremely drought resistant and will drop leaves in the typical dry seasons of Indo-China, only to burst
out with new foliage once the rainy season arrives. The local fauna are said to enjoy grazing on the new
leaves. In Lao and Cambodia, large savannas of this bamboo exist. Many people use fire to clear the land
during the dry season in preparation for planting crops. Vietnamosasa has developed a deep root and rhizome
system which allows it to survive even this harshest of treatments.

Branching on V. ciliata showing no
dominant branch with dozens of
small, evenly sized branches.
Branches remain short and this gives
the plants the "tufted" appearance
typical of the specie.