chote

Vietnamosasa ciliata (A.Camus) Nguyen;
Common name: Pai Chote; Pai Jote (Smitinand, 2001).
The species Vietnamosasa ciliata is very similar in Taxonomy to V. pusilla. It was also placed in the
genus Vietnamosasa by Ngyuen in 1990. Previously it was identified as Arundinaria ciliata.

V. ciliata is found in open areas in and surrounding the dipthocarp forests of eastern and
northeastern Thailand as well as in parts of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.(Dransfield, 1996) Until
very recently, some confusion existed as to whether this was an alternative name for the specie V.
pusilla. (Dransfield, 1997) V. ciliata usually grows in sandy and sandy loam soils. Rhizomes in rocky
soils have been found as far as 50cm below the grounds surface, though normally they grow in
depths up to 20 cm. The bamboo has a pachymorph rhizome structure (clumping) and forms
compact clumps. New shoots emerge at the beginning of the rainy season are green with a purple
hue. Mature culms can reach heights of two meters. Because of the depth of the rhizomes, the culm
base, unlike most bamboo, is found underground. The underground culm contains branch buds
which become active if the above ground culm is damaged. Flowering branches are borne on
leafless, branched culms up to 2 meters tall. These leafless culms originate from underground
rhizomes. The nodes of both branches and culms contain a fascicle of spikelets. The underground
portion of the culm also produces several slender, flowering branches which bear or terminate in a
few spikelets. The spikelets are up to 4cm long and consist of 5-7 florets. V. ciliata is distinguished
from the genus Racemobambos by a prophyll and a bud bearing bracht that is present at the base of
the spikelet. This pseudo spikelet is present in the inflorescence (Dransfield, 2000a).