Bambusa balcooa' is a clumping bamboo native to Indochina and the Indian subcontinent. It is thick walled clumping or sympodial bamboo. Bamboo can be of either the "clumping" (sympodial) type, or the "running" (monopodial) type. The clumping bamboos, such as those in the Bambusa genus, create new plants by growing new shoots very near the base of existing plants, as opposed to the "running" types like those found in the Phyllostachys family which send "runners" or rhizomes out several meters before sprouting a new shoot. This makes the clumping variety a more efficient user of space as the plant matures and it does not spread out very much. While the running types are generally considered invasive and difficult to confine and maintain, the clumping types like Bambusa balcooa require no eff