Bamboos can brighten park landscape — DENR-ERDB

They come in different colors – green, yellow, brown, black, striped.

Yes, bamboos can brighten the landscape of parks and public gardens.

A good example that comes to mind is the Bogor Botanic Gardens in Bogor City, fondly regarded as the "Los Baños of Indonesia" which is situated 60 kilometers south of the capital city of Jakarta.

Considered as one of the most beautiful botanic gardens in the world, BBG has within its 87-hectare complex different species of bamboo.

In an effort to popularize bamboo as, among other things, a landscaping material, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB) has set up a bamboo gene bank at its Los Baños Experiment Station (LBES) on Mt. Makiling.

Cristina Roxas, ERDB bamboo taxonomist (specialist in the scientific classification of plants), says that bamboos that can be used for landscaping are not only those ordinary species seen in rural areas in the country.

"The Philippines has only about 15 endemic bamboo species," she says. "But through ERDB’s R&D efforts, we were able to establish a bamboo gene bank that contains 40 species. Many of these were introduced in the Philippines from other countries. Each has endearing unique aesthetic characteristics."

Angelito Exconde, ERDB-LBES supervisor, also told this writer that the bureau’s collections in its five-hectare gene bank on Mt. Makiling come in different shades of green, yellow, brown, black, and mottled (striped).

Exconde said that to date, the country has only three bamboo gene banks (bambosetum). The two others are in Baguio City and at the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) in Magalang, Pampanga.

Director Diaz also said that to promote its bamboo program, it has published "DENR Recommends No. 9, Ornamental Bamboos for Urban Parks." – Rudy A. Fernandez