Cladobambus orientalis, also known as thorny bamboo or arrow bamboo, is a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Its leaves are long and lance-shaped, and it belongs to the family Poaceae. Cladobambus orientalis is primarily used for clearing the intestines and stopping diarrhea, as well as promoting digestion and relieving stagnation.
Cladobambus orientalis is a tall bamboo species, reaching heights of 10 to 24 meters with a diameter of 5 to 15 centimeters. The internodes are long and hollow.
The sheaths are thick and leathery, rectangular or triangular in shape, with brown spines on the back. The auricles are slightly equal on both sides, and the leaf blades are triangular with small brown-black spines on the front.
The branches have 2 to 3 spines, and each small branch has 6 to 8 leaves. The leaf sheaths are 2.5 to 5 centimeters long, with several gray, easily falling hairs at the sheath mouth. The leaf blades are long and lance-shaped, measuring 6 to 20 centimeters in length and 6 to 20 millimeters in width. The base of the leaf tapers into a 1 to 3 millimeter petiole, and the back of the leaf is slightly hairy. There are 4 to 7 secondary veins, and the smaller veins are not prominent. The leaf margin is rough or smooth on one side.
The spikelets are clustered, with 4 to 12 flowers and pale green or yellow-green color. The upper glume is lance-shaped without hairs, and the lower glume has two ridges and is covered with three white long hairs along the edge. There are six stamens, with anthers that are 4 millimeters long and can resemble a small brush at the tip of the anther connective. The apex of the ovary is covered with spines, and there is one style with three feathery stigmas. The bamboo shoots appear from May to June, and the flowers bloom from August to December.
