空柄玉山竹 kong bing yu shan zhu

Rhizome neck 14–42 cm, internodes and nodes hollow. Culms 3.5–6 m, 6–15 mm in diam.; internodes terete, 14–34 cm, with white powdery ring below nodes, glabrous; wall 1.5–2.5 mm; pith initially lamellate, later granular; nodes with level or weakly prominent supra-nodal ridge; sheath scar weakly prominent. Branches 4–9 with white powdery internodes. Culm sheaths deciduous, narrowly rounded, shorter than internodes, inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed, cartilaginous, glabrous, abaxially waxy, margins initially white-gray ciliate; auricles absent; oral setae absent to 3, yellow-brown, 1–6 mm; ligule 1–1.5 mm, convex, margins initially ciliate; blade erect, linear-triangular or linear-lanceolate, glabrous. Leaves 2–5 per ultimate branch; sheath margins initially gray ciliolate; auricles absent; oral setae 5–7, yellow, 1.5–7 mm; ligule truncate, glabrous; blade linear-lanceolate, 3.3–5 × 0.5–0.6 cm, glabrous, secondary veins 2- or 3-paired, transverse veins distinct, base cuneate, one margin spinescent-serrulate, other margin obscurely so. Inflorescence unknown. New shoots May–Jun.

* 2000–2600 m. N Sichuan.

Yushania cava is an important food for the giant panda.