Bamboo (Bambusa species)
Bamboo is a clumping plant with tall, hollow greenish-yellow canes. Dense stands outcompete other plants
Profile
How does this weed affect you?
Clumping bamboo can form dense stands that outcompete other vegetation. It is not as invasive as rhizomatous bamboo (Phyllostachys species).
What does it look like?
Bamboo is a woody, clumping plant. There are over 100 species of Bambusa and the genus is diverse with a wide range of sizes and other features.
Leaves:
There are two types of leaves, culm leaves and foliage leaves.
Foliage leaves:
- have parallel veins and a prominent midrib
- are on short stalks.
Culm leaves
- have sheaths that wrap around the stem
- are deciduous.
Stems are:
- up to 25 m tall and often arch over with age
- cylindrical up to 10 cm in diameter
- hollow with nodes along the stems.
Rhizomes (underground stems) are short and in dense clumps.
Similar looking plants
Clumping bamboo looks similar to rhizomatous or running bamboo (Phyllostachya spp.), which have grooves in the stems on the sides were the leaves grow from. This alternates along the stem. They also have long rhizomes that spread away from the clump.
Where is it found?
Bambusa are native to China and Southeast Asia.
What type of environment does it grow in?
Clumping bamboos grow best in tropical and subtropical climates.
How does it spread?
By seed
Bamboo rarely produces seed.
By plant parts
Bamboo spreads as a dense clump, by producing shoots from the ends of its rhizomes close to the original clump. Bamboo can be spread by people dumping garden rubbish containing rhizome fragments.
Acknowledgements
2019 Plain Language by S. Alt.
2025 edition by Wendy Gibney, Edited by Birgitte Verbeek.
References
Auld, B. and Medd, R. (1987). Weeds: An illustrated botanical guide to the weeds of Australia, Department of Agriculture New South Wales, Melbourne.
Clark, L. G., Londoño, X., & Ruiz-Sanchez, E. (2015). Bamboo taxonomy and habitat. Bamboo: The plant and its uses, 1-30.
Khan, K. K., & Hemalatha, E. (2015). A review on the genus Bambusa and one particular species Bambusa vulgaris in Sabah (Malaysia). The International Research Journal of Pharmacy, 6(9), 1-5.
PlantNET (The NSW Plant Information Network System). Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Retrieved 3 December 2024 from: https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=gn&name=Bambusa
Control
Successful weed control relies on follow up after the initial efforts. This means looking for and killing regrowth or new plants. Using a combination of control methods is usually more successful.
Regularly check control sites for regrowth.
Prevention
Do not plant bamboos in gardens without planning to manage the spread.
Physical removal
By hand
Plants can be controlled by digging out the base of the plant and removing all the rhizomes and roots.
By machine
Excavators can remove large infestations. Permits may be required if the bamboo is close to waterways or native vegetation.
Slashing or cutting
Continually removing the shoots by mowing or cutting will eventually kill plants.
Disposal
Stems and leaves can be mulched. Contact your local council for further advice on disposal.
Chemical control
Spot spraying
Apply the herbicide mix to actively growing plants. Ensure that all of the foliage is covered with the herbicide.
Cut stump method
Cut each individual stem close to the ground and apply herbicide to the stump within 15 seconds.
In environments where it is safe to do so, cut the stems 20 cm above the ground just below a node, then carefully pour herbicide into hollow stems immediately after treating the top rim of the stump
If leaves regrow from the cut stem, spray the regrowth before it is 50 cm tall.
Herbicide options
Users of agricultural or veterinary chemical products must always read the label and any permit, before using the product, and strictly comply with the directions on the label and the conditions of any permit. Users are not absolved from compliance with the directions on the label or the conditions of the permit by reason of any statement made or not made in this information. To view permits or product labels go to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority website www.apvma.gov.au
See Using herbicides for more information.
PERMIT 11916 Expires 30/09/2030
Glyphosate 360 g/L
(Various products)
Rate: 1 part glyphosate to 50 parts water
Comments: Spot spray regrowth at 0.5 m tall. For use in urban bushland, native forests and coastal reserves. See permit for critical comments.
Withholding period: Nil.
Herbicide group: 9 (previously group M), Inhibition of 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3 phosphate synthase (EPSP inhibition)
Resistance risk: Moderate
Glyphosate 360 g/L
(Various products)
Rate: 1 L per 100 L of water.
Comments: Spray all of the foliage on actively growling plants between 1 and 2 m tall.
Withholding period: Nil.
Herbicide group: 9 (previously group M), Inhibition of 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3 phosphate synthase (EPSP inhibition)
Resistance risk: Moderate
Glyphosate 360 g/L
(Various products)
Rate: 1 part glyphosate to 6 parts water
Comments: Cut stump method. Cut stems to 20 cm. Pour mixture down stem or wet cut.
Withholding period: Nil.
Herbicide group: 9 (previously group M), Inhibition of 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3 phosphate synthase (EPSP inhibition)
Resistance risk: Moderate
Biosecurity duty
The content provided here is for information purposes only and is taken from the NSW Biosecurity Act 2015 and its subordinate legislation, and the Regional Strategic Weed Management Plans (published by each Local Land Services region in NSW). It describes the state and regional priorities for weeds in New South Wales, Australia.
| Area | Duty |
|---|---|
| All of NSW | General Biosecurity Duty All pest plants are regulated with a general biosecurity duty to prevent, eliminate or minimise any biosecurity risk they may pose. Any person who deals with any plant, who knows (or ought to know) of any biosecurity risk, has a duty to ensure the risk is prevented, eliminated or minimised, so far as is reasonably practicable. |
Reviewed 2026
