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The story
In one bamboo grove, the hachiku bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis) began flowering in part in 2020, and by 2022 nearly every culm had flowered and died, with most of the underground rhizome network dying off as well. What’s more, not a single seed was produced after flowering. So how did this grove — seemingly cut off from any path to a new generation via seed — manage to survive instead of disappearing entirely? A 5ch thread discussing the findings reported by the original article (Gendai Business) sparked debate: some were stunned by the explanation that “a tiny fraction of the rhizomes apparently survived and are producing new culms,” while others pushed back with alternate theories like “maybe it’s just that some stalks which never flowered stuck around” or “isn’t this just normal rhizome propagation?”
2026.09.18
Toshihiro Yamada
Bamboo that blooms once every 120 years, 7,000-year-old coral, jellyfish that turn back the clock…
Source: gendai.media / Original article here
What people said
Too much hassle to go read the article
Turns out some old guy secretly replanted it
The grove started flowering in 2020, had no flowering in 2021, then flowered again in 2022, with 81% of the whole grove blooming and dying.
Okay, so I figured the remaining 19% would carry the grove forward — but then the next year, that remaining 19% flowered too. Even brand-new first-year shoots died.
Alright, so since it flowered, it must reproduce by seed! I set up a net to catch however many seeds fell, but none ever came down. Turns out none were even being produced.
So then — how exactly has this bamboo grove managed to survive? (Read the rest in the article)
Then what's even the point of flowering in the first place?
Don't feed me that lie! Quit lying!
Hachiku in Japan was brought over from China, and since it's all descended from a single genetically identical clone, maybe it can't produce seed due to self-incompatibility?
Wouldn't the ones back in China, where it originated, still be able to produce seed?
As for why hachiku all across Japan flowers on the same cycle, it's thought to point to genetic uniformity — likely because the same stock introduced during the Nara period (710-794 CE) was propagated and distributed nationwide as a useful plant.
Don't feed me that lie! Quit lying!
Can we actually trust that?
Apparently it doesn't die off completely — it keeps propagating
Probably to maintain genetic diversity
Once it flowers, it's dead for sure
Agave's the same way — even after the parent rosette dies, offshoot pups branching off the base stick around without dying
And apparently the Chinese black bamboo does produce seeds after flowering
Sounds like the same pattern as fragrant olive (kinmokusei) or red spider lily (higanbana) — plants that are all clones in Japan and rarely if ever seed
AI: "Let's crack open the skull and implant stem cells so the brain cells can multiply"
Surprise! Still alive over here! So… how's that feel? NDK (a sarcastic 5ch taunt abbreviation)?
According to the original article, every single stalk flowered and died off, and most of the rhizome network died too —
but a tiny fraction of the rhizomes survived and are producing the next generation
It's flowered a few times since around 2020 — spikes more than a year old crumble when you rub them, no seeds at all, and tiny new shoots keep popping up and surviving here and there
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Hachiku bamboo in Japan is believed to descend from a single stock introduced from China during the Nara period (710-794 CE), and because individuals nationwide are genetically almost identical, it’s known for the rare phenomenon of flowering nearly simultaneously across the country on a roughly 120-year cycle. In the grove discussed here, nearly every culm flowered and died over the course of a few years starting in 2020, most of the underground portion died as well, and not a single seed was produced. The thread split over the original article’s explanation that “part of the plant survives flowering and produces smaller new culms” — some pushed back with alternative theories like “maybe it’s just that stalks which never flowered were left behind” or “isn’t this just ordinary rhizome-based propagation?” One point that trips readers up is that bamboo’s typical vegetative propagation via rhizomes is a separate phenomenon from this case’s “partial survival after flowering,” and some replies in the thread conflated the two. It’s also worth noting that in China, where black bamboo (kurochiku) originates, the plant reportedly does produce seeds after flowering — the lack of seed production unique to Japan’s hachiku is thought to be tied to its lack of genetic diversity.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “Researchers Stunned Too… Despite the ‘Parent Generation Wiped Out and Zero Seeds,’ Why Hasn’t the Bamboo Grove Disappeared? The Unexpected Reason Uncovered by the Investigation.”
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