Arundina graminifolia
Object Details
- Description
- The Bamboo Orchid is lovely, but just like actual bamboo, if planted in the wrong areas, can take over like a weed. Arundina graminifolia is the only species in its genus, and takes its common name from its bamboo-like foliage. It is a giant orchid, which can grow to 6 feet high, with a single pale pink flower perched on top. It has a tendency to form keikis (new plants), which is part of its weed-like success. When one of these very tall orchids falls, the keiki at the top of the plant falls and colonizes a new area. These Arundina have been one of the few orchids to benefit from human activity, as they like to grow in areas disturbed by forest clearing and road building. The bamboo orchid has spread like wildfire and naturalized in several areas, including Hawaii, where it is one of the first plants to colonize lava flows.
- Taking all of this into account, these orchids are tough, and can handle less-than-ideal care. If cultivated indoors, or in a climate that is not conducive to their year-round survival, Arundina graminifolia is good pick.
- Hardiness
- 40 - 60 F
- Bloom Time (Northern Hemisphere)
- Year round; peaks in February, July to August
- Ethnobotanical Uses
- In east Malaysia, a highliand variety is used as a vegetable, where the flower is stir fried and said to have a tase like a bitter gourd.
- Medicinal / Pharmaceutical
- Studies have suggested this orchid to have anticancer, antioxidant, antidepressant, antiviral, anti-lipid peroxidation, antibacterial, and anti-hemolytic properties. Further, it is considered antibacterial, antitumor, antidotal, and immune regulating in several cultures which have traditional uses, such as India, China, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.
- Pollination Syndrome
- Bees; butterflies; crickets; flys; moths; thrips; wasps
- Provenance
- From a cultivated plant not of known wild origin
- Range
- Trop and Subtrop Asia
- Habitat
- Tropical valleys, mixed forests, grassland; 650-7086ft (200-2160m)
- Topic
- Orchids
- Living Collections
- See more items in
- Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection
- Data Source
- Smithsonian Gardens
- Accession Number
- 2020-0114A
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Common Name
- Bamboo Orchid
- Tapah Weeds
- The Grass-like Leaf Arundina
- Group
- [vascular plants]
- Class
- Equisetopsida
- Subclass
- Magnoliidae
- Superorder
- Lilianae
- Order
- Asparagales
- Family
- Orchidaceae
- Subfamily
- Epidendroideae
- Genus
- Arundina
- Species
- graminifolia
- Life Form
- Terrestrial
- Bloom Characteristics
- Inflorescence is up to 16" (40 cm) long with up to 15 white flowers with a purple lip that are short-lived but bloom sucessively. Flower is 2.5" (6.5 cm) across.
- Foliage Characteristics
- Bamboo-like
- Fragrance
- Floral
- Plant Size
- 50-100" x 12-30" (127-254 x 31-76 cm)
- Record ID
- ofeo-sg_2020-0114A
