ໄມ້ໄລ່ / Albociliata Bamboo
APA 6th ed. ໄມ້ໄລ່ / Albociliata Bamboo. (2021, August 31). Retrieved from https://www.phakhaolao.la/index.php/kb/0000057
MLA 8th ed. ໄມ້ໄລ່ / Albociliata Bamboo. Pha Khao Lao, 31 August 2021, https://www.phakhaolao.la/index.php/kb/0000057.
Chicago 17th ed. Pha Khao Lao. 2021. "ໄມ້ໄລ່ / Albociliata Bamboo." Published August 31, 2021. https://www.phakhaolao.la/index.php/kb/0000057.
Oxytenanthera albociliata Munro
Pseudotenanthera albociliata (Munro) R.B.Majumdar
Pseudoxytenanthera albociliata (Munro) T.Q.Nguyen
Pseudoxytenanthera albociliata (Munro) R.B.Majumdar
Mai lai grows in clusters of about 1-1.5 m in diameter with an average height of 10 m. The canes have a diameter of around 2.5-3.5 cm, a wall thickness of c.1 cm, and internodes that are 30-40 cm long with a green pattern on the stems. The first branch is at 50 cm from the ground. Clump sheets are c.9 x 14 cm, black or pale yellow and hairy from the middle on. The tip clump sheet is droopy, sized about 5 x 15 cm, and has two differently shaped auricles. The average number of leaflets is eight or nine, with leaflets measuring 4 x 29 cm. This species is easily recognised by its drooping stem clusters, while branches are mostly the same size as the main clump. Clusters of Mai Lai can be quite dense, producing up to 200 stems. The species is found mostly in sandy soil, but even in poor and rocky soil in mixed forest at elevations of about 100 m-500 m across Laos.
Shoots are edible but bitter, and are harvested from August-September. Clump aged two to three years and older are moderately harvested year-round and used to train climbing vegetables or as garden poles. Shoots are harvested heavily for home consumption or sold locally for around $0.1 per kg. Mai Lai is not propagated in Laos.