# Purple bamboo, Poaceae... ?



## davemonkey

Has anyone tried growing 'Purple Bamboo' emersed to get it to flower/form emersed foliage so that a positive id can be made on the Genus (and possibly species) of this aquatic grass? I'd like to know what it is.

-Dave


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## Cavan Allen

I'd like to know too. I've grown it by the pound emersed and have yet to see an inflorescence. Very strong light may well be what it takes.


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## davemonkey

Cavan Allen said:


> I'd like to know too. I've grown it by the pound emersed and have yet to see an inflorescence. Very strong light may well be what it takes.


Yeah, I'd be willing to bet that it would take some direct sunlight and some actual outdoors seasonal changes to get it to produce an infloresscence. A well-watered flower pot on a well-lit patio over the course of a growing season might do the trick. Or does it require more water than what I'm thinking for emersed growth?


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## Cavan Allen

I'm assuming it's a tropical plant, in which case changes in season probably shouldn't be so important, at least not in terms of light levels. But you never know I guess. 

You'll probably do just fine with a well-watered pot. I've grown it in relatively dry conditions without a problem. There were no inflorescences, mind you, but it grew. I have a feeling, though, that wetter roots are probably better. If you've got space, try growing it under a few different conditions.


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## miremonster

Several tropical/subtropical plants flower in short day conditions - maybe also this grass?


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## Cavan Allen

Yes, but aren't days the same or nearly the same length all year around the tropics? Then again, we don't yet know the origin of this plant, so it may be wise to expose it to a wide variety of conditions.


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## davemonkey

I am totally up to doing this test with different conditions to get this grass to flower. I just need a couple or three months to set it up (I'm moving at the end of this month) and I'll have to get some samples (I don't actually have any of this plant) . 

If someone else would like to do this, I'd love to hear about it and see the results. Otherwise, I'll volunteer to do it...it'll just be awhile before I can start.

-Dave


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## lildark185

I have not had the chance to grow this plant but what if it required a dry season similar to how killie eggs need to be dried before being able to hatch. The plant would grow submersed most of the year until summer when the water levels dip low initiating the inflorescence.


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## jmontee

I have some purple bamboo in my tank now and have a lot of light coming into my balcony in sunny Miami. I would love to try this can anyone recommend a pottng soil to use?


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## miremonster

Cavan Allen said:


> Yes, but aren't days the same or nearly the same length all year around the tropics?


E.g. forms of the tropical Echinodorus grisebachii group (E. parviflorus, E. bleherae etc.) develop more inflorescences when cultivated in short day, and leaves are developed with longer stalk and shorter lamina like aerial leaves, also when submerged.


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## davemonkey

jmontee said:


> I have some purple bamboo in my tank now and have a lot of light coming into my balcony in sunny Miami. I would love to try this can anyone recommend a pottng soil to use?


You probably wouldn't have to use potting soil since this plant can obviously handle saturated soil. Potting soils are made up of mostly peat to allow good drainage and avoid 'wet feet'.

If I were doing this, I would get whatever potting soil you can find on sale and plant 1 specimen in there and keep evenly moist at all times.

I'd do another in yard soil (whether it be sand or clay...just whatever is in your yard) and keep that one very wet, heavily saturated, at all times.

A third I would use either potting soil or yard soil and let the plant slightly wilt in between waterings so that it goes through some slight stress.

A fourth I would pot up and keep very wet at all times for about 2-4 months, then suddenly stop watering and let it get a moderate to heavy wilt before watering again, and then allow a wilt in between waterings.

All of these I'd keep in very high light areas. During winter months they'd have to be in sunny windows. How each performs in the different moisture conditions may also help in identifying it.
Also, they would have to be rooted emergent plants. Trying to go from submerged growth straight to a pot may be too much stress on the plant and end up killing it.

-Dave


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## Cavan Allen

Aquasoil works quite well for emersed plants...


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## Cavan Allen

Interesting...
http://thebegavalley.org.au/uploads/tx_steverplantgallery/Isachne_globosa_03_swamp millet.jpg


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## Cavan Allen

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translat...e/post-41815.html&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

That's you participating in that thread miremonster? I have the Cook book (ha ha) here in front of me and am looking at the _Isachne_ section now. When I go back to the herbarium I'll have a look at specimens. I've grown this species emersed a lot and it looks *very* much like the photo I linked above. Of course, it will be best to flower it still and send it to a grass expert, because what we have now isn't much more than a hunch.


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## miremonster

Hello Cavan, 
that's me, really... (caught  )
So You can use a herbarium - that's great! On a limited scale grass genera can be ID'ed with vegetative characters. 
EDIT: Often the characters of the transition between leaf sheet and leaf blade are important, e.g. presence and shape of the so-called auricles and ligule.

These translations by programs are funny, the name Hubbardia is translated as Stroke bar dia


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## davemonkey

Woah! Did I see that correctly? "Purple Bamboo" is a millet? Are we talking strictly tropical? If anyone has emersed pics of of ligule and auricle I can hunt for a possible id.

-Dave


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## miremonster

Hello Dave,

"millet" is also a collective name for many different wild or cultivated grasses with roundish fruits, in the tropics as well as in cooler regions. And we don't know if the "purple bamboo" is a swamp millet (Isachne), it's only a hunch!
Some characters of grasses are explained e.g. here:
http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/mastergardener/mg0010.htm
http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/pests/ipm1007.htm
http://turfgrassmanagement.psu.edu/cool_season_turfgrasses_part1.cfm
You need at least an amplifier and identification keys for an ID attempt. Often ID of grasses is very difficult, especially when the geographical origin of the plant is unknown.


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