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Sasa
Also called Broad Leaf Bamboo, Broad Leaved Bamboos
Sasa is a genus of short, shrub-like bamboos from Asia, mostly from Japan, that spread vigorously by running rhizomes and are grown for their large, broad leaves. Commonly grown members include Sasa palmata and Sasa veitchii, which are grown as ornamental groundcover in temperate gardens.
Sasa is a genus of bamboo and part of the grass family (Poaceae). Sasa are characterized as being dwarf species of bamboo, typically under 2m in height, producing many thin culms from a highly branched and running root stock with only one branch per node. For their size, they have relatively large, wide leaves leading to the common name broadleaf bamboo.
All species are native to Asia, with the majority are native to Japan. Some species of Sasa have the northern-most distribution of any bamboo species and are native to Sakhalin in the Russian Far East and the nearby Kuril islands. The genus name Sasa is derived from the Japanese name sasa (笹 / ササ) meaning bamboo grass, used to distinguish Sasa from taller bamboo in Japan.
Along with other genera of bamboo, the era of botanical expeditions and plant hunting in 19th century saw the introduction and cultivation of Sasa in Western gardens, with Sasa veitchii introduced to Britain in 1879; with Sasa palmata introduced in about 1889. Both Sasa species are frequently grown in the UK today, as is Sasa tsuboiana, amongst other species. Other than the UK, Sasa species (chiefly S. palmata and S. veitchii) have been recorded as having been introduced into Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic and/or Slovakia), France, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Perhaps with the exception of Indocalamus tessellatus, Sasa palmata has the largest, widest leaves of any temperate bamboo, and along with its evergreen nature, gives a tropical air to temperate gardens yet is hardy to -15 °C or more.
The genus Sasa is native to Asia, with the native distribution of the genus extending from Sakhalin and the Kuril islands of Russia to the north, southwards through Japan and Korea, and across the southeast region of China including Guangxi, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Hainan.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sasa (plant) by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
