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I purchased this strange looking bamboo plant solely because it looked so unique.

I am totally curious which species it could be, and why it grew a round ball shape on its stock.

The length of internodes is very small-maybe. 0.5 cm or smaller .

The leaves are and top stems are growing very quickly, and I'd love to see more of this neat, uneven growth pattern.

Can anyone help?

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J. Musser
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Gary
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    It's not a bamboo, I'm fairly sure this is one of the Dracaenas, or possibly but less likely, a Dieffenbachia; I'm just not sure which - the bulbous part at the base of the stem is unusual, not common to either plant. Its the fairly short, broad leaves that make full ID difficult because Dracaena usually has longer, narrower leaves; Dieffenbachia always showsvariegation on its leaves - you may find the stem becomes brown over time rather than remaining green. Example of Dracaena fragrans stem (and leaves) here https://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/dracaena-fragrans-growing-from-cutting/ – Bamboo Aug 25 '17 at 01:23
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    It is definitely a Dracaena, as Bamboo indicates. Likely D. Massangea, possibly D. Demerensis or what ever the botanists have decided to rename them too. The stem is unusual. Certainly possible that a grower has found a new use for stems too small to ship – kevinskio Aug 26 '17 at 22:23

1 Answers1

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As mentioned in the comments, that's a Dracaena. Notice how the leaf scars are far closer spaced on the wide area. this is explained by a change in the growing environment during that time (likely increased light), causing closer leaf spacing and a more robust stem.

Not caused by the stem widening after hardening. To see more of this effect, try to move it to very bright light for a few months, then back to a lower light level for a while. When the leaves shed, you will notice patterns on the stem.

J. Musser
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