Tackling Japan’s Abandoned and Overgrown Bamboo

A blossoming hachiku, or henon bamboo, growing in Kyoto. The arrows in this and the following photo point to the anther at the tip of the stamen, the male reproductive part of the flower.

A mōsōchiku, or tortoise-shell bamboo, observed flowering in Kyoto.

Shoots of hachiku poke out of the ground in a bamboo stand in Kyoto Prefecture.

Rhizome systems of a mōsōchiku on display at the Kyoto Bamboo Park. Like culms, the subterranean stems are segmented.

A stand of blossoming henon bamboo in Shiga Prefecture. The plants turn brown as they bloom.

A stand of mōsōchiku grows along the lower portion of a hillside in southern Kyoto Prefecture. The bamboo in early summer is distinguished from the surrounding forest by its yellowish-green foliage.

An abandoned riverside bamboo forest in southern Kyoto Prefecture.

A wild boar finds food in a mixed tree and mōsōchiku forest area in southern Kyoto Prefecture.

A deer visits a mixed tree and mōsōchiku forest area in southern Kyoto Prefecture.