THE AMBOINESE HERBARIUM

Book 6. Chapter 7.

This botanical copperplate engraving illustrates a species of thorny bamboo. A thick, segmented main stem is shown horizontally with its ends cut to reveal a hollow interior. From the nodes of this stem, thinner, arching branches grow, covered in numerous sharp, hooked thorns. Clusters of long, narrow, lance-shaped leaves emerge from the branch tips and nodes. In the lower right corner, a single larger leaf is displayed separately to show its parallel vein structure.

This reed remains green throughout the year. It does not produce the perfectly straight stalks that are compared with the black bamboos described in the New Atlas of China original: "Novus Atlas Sinensis" by Martino Martini, 1655 within the Province of Zhejiang original: "Chekiang", on page 116.

This plate illustrates a branch of the thorny tree-reed called Bulu Baduri Malay: Bulu means bamboo and Duri means thorn. This is perhaps the thicker and taller fence-reed of the East Indies, which the people of Malabar call Corkipillu. Referencing Leonard Plukenet, Mantissa, page 28.

CHAPTER 7.

The Wild Tree-Reed. Bulu swangi.

The eighth and strongest species of reed is the Bulu swangi Malay: "Spirit Bamboo" or "Witch Bamboo," so named for its formidable nature or ritual uses. In its appearance, it differs from all the types described previously, as it bears the smallest and narrowest leaves. These are six to ten inches long and only one finger wide. They are smooth, green, and marked with fine stripes, but they are not as wrinkled as the leaves mentioned before. Throughout the entire plant, very few bristly or prickly hairs are found, except on the sheath of the Robongthe tender young bamboo shoot. Because of this, all its branches and hollow stalks are very smooth, turning a yellowish color as they ripen. At the nodes, some blunt tips are visible, though these are not true thorns.

Its stalks are relatively straight and tall, reaching from twenty-eight to thirty feet and more, yet they are not as straight as the species described earlier. At certain nodes, the stalks are quite curved and winding. The sections between the nodes also have a short furrow or groove. Furthermore, this reed is the strongest of all varieties, although the substance of the hollow stalks is not as thick as the...