Fast-Spreading Bamboo Affecting City

The Attleboro Conservation Committee is considering the creation of an ordinance to ban or otherwise regulate the use of the insidious and destructive phyllostachys aureosulcata, or yellow groove running bamboo.

The plant is a stubborn green growth that is unaffected by freezing weather.

“It’s a horrible invasive species,” Conservation Agent Tara Martin said to The Sun Chronicle. “Once you plant it, it’s very hard to contain. It can undermine foundations, tear up sidewalks and rupture gas lines. It will take over.”

If left to grow, the plant keeps spreading and creates dense groves, with some shoots reaching a height of 40 or more feet. It kills other plant life and pushes up through concrete, as well as into homes and garages. Up to 2 feet of top soil must be removed as part of the termination process.

Phyllostachys aureosulcata is not on the state’s invasive species list, but it is being considered, she said.

Yellow groove running bamboo spreads rapidly in all directions through a root system that’s hard to eradicate and must be done professionally, Martin said.

A paper published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2012 echoes that sentiment.

“This species damages sidewalks and driveways, destroys swimming pools, invades septic systems, establishes in lawns and shades out other vegetation,” it said. “Multiple townships have established ordinances restricting the planting and growth of running bamboo.”

Image via Shutterstock.