Mottled Bamboo

Mottled Bamboo

Mottled bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusoides f. lacrima-deae) is also known in Chinese as Xiangfei bamboo. It is yielded in Hunan, Henan, Jianxi and Zhejiang, China, especially the Jiuyi Mountains. The bamboo's brown trunk is mottled with varying shades of purpura-like spots.

Legend has it that when King Shun died suddenly during a trip to Cangwu, the tears of his two concubines Ehuang (娥皇) and Nüying (女英) dropped onto surrounding bamboo and stained it forever. Mottled bamboo is known for being a decorative plant. The Chinese name of Xiangfei zhu (湘妃竹) originates from the legend. Xiang (湘) refers to the Xiang River, where the story supposedly took place, fei (妃) means "concubine" and zhu (竹) means "bamboo", thus the "bamboo of the concubines by the Xiang River".

The term "mottled bamboo" is also used to describe online discussion board moderators in Mainland China, because when the word for moderator (版主) is entered using the keyboard in Pinyin, the word for mottled bamboo (斑竹) appears as the first option, as they sound very similar. Hence, mottled bamboo gradually became another way of calling a moderator.

See also

  • Spotted bamboo

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