Stunning clumping bamboo growing to 10m. It has black culms like a chalkboard with white rings around the internodes and large green tropical leaves. This species makes a magnificent statement in any garden. Black bamboo typically send up new shoots green and they turn black over a few months. Black stems can fade to a whitish colour after a few years, though with extra nutrients in the soil and fertilising the poles can stay black for longer. Java Black is without a doubt a feature bamboo but can also be used for light screening. It has a very open vase shape with its culms so will allow beautiful filtered sunshine through to any underplanting. It looks great paired with bromeliads.