Plant story

Oxytenanthera abyssinica

This species of bamboo, collected in West Africa by the Millennium Seed Bank Project partner institution in Mali, the Institut d’Economie Rurale, is a priority for conservation for a number of reasons: it is a very useful plant, its natural habitat is under increasing threat and it sets seed only once every seven years. 

Within Mali, and other sub-Saharan African countries, the bamboo is used for roof and furniture construction, as fuel for cooking and heating, for basket weaving and wine making, and as a medicine to treat diabetes and rheumatism. The bamboo is, therefore, highly valuable to local people but is threatened in the wild by over-harvesting, animal grazing and urban development. It is now a fully protected species in Mali: harvesting is carefully controlled and reintroduction programmes have been established.

Oxytenanthera abyssinica is a drought resistant species that grows in open grassland. It flowers after long periods of vegetative growth, occasionally sets seed and then dies back, sometimes synchronously across large areas. This phenomenon has led to the superstition in Mali that the fruiting of the bamboo is a bad omen for kings, conquerors and chiefs.  It last seeded in 2006.  The Millennium Seed Bank now holds several thousand seeds from this species, which will be used for conservation research both here and in Mali. 

 

Fact File

Species and Habitat

• most hardy of the 3 African species
• often found on very poor soils
• most drought resistant bamboo species
• fast growing
• survives fire in its natural habitat
• Bamboo is a grass and the flowers look like those of a large grass
• grows in open grassland, lowlands and highlands
• minimum altitude 500m, maximum altitude 2,000m
• generally grows close together in pure stands
• flowers and seeds intermittently then dies

Current uses

• building material used in roofing, house construction, scaffolding, fencing, pipes farming, farm props for banana plantations
• furniture, baskets for transporting produce, handicrafts
• edible young shoots in extreme food shortages conditions
• medicinal uses (diabetes, rheumatism)
• soil erosion control and the rehabilitation of degraded sites
• domestic energy
• horticultural flower

Potential uses

• Agroforestry (planted to alleviate soil erosion and degraded land recovery)
• Planting to stabilise dams, river and pond banks

These potential uses are pre-conditioned by the availability of a lot of seedlings, i.e. raised from seeds, that can be handled and planted easily on farm lands and other places where they are needed. Seedlings raised from seeds have the advantage of being homogeneous, transportable and one can plan related activities ahead.

Threats

• over-harvesting for multipurpose uses
• bush fire
• animal gazing
• erratic fruiting
• expanding urban areas

Conservation

• Now a fully protected species in Mali, controlled and regulated by Forestry Authority
• In Mali, the government bans cutting of this bamboo to allow the overcut areas to regenerate to their full potential. 
• bamboo harvesting from state forests is allowed only with a special licence
• Re-introduction programmes established in southern regions by Forestry Authority
• Forestry department is encouraging and helping with planting of these species in home gardens and communal lands. 
• In addition, in some areas of Southern Mali, the Village Hunters’ Association regulates and gives permission for to harvest bamboos and rattans for some specific duration and quantity to be collected, once a year after each rainy season. 
• Propagation – from cuttings and rhizomes.  Seed is rare.
• Planting materials are better raised from seeds (outbreeding and greater genetic variation).
• Ex-situ conservation via seeds is an insurance policy (replicates banking), guaranties the future of species and allows further research on the biology of the species. 
• The actual seed collections, is to allow more propagation in forest nurseries and planting of the species for communal and private needs and uses in various localities, so that the natural stands will still be sheltered.
• More control of the exploitation of the resources, and in parallel encouraging a lot of planting of useful species for specific needs and uses by the population.