Probably golden bamboo, with such tops to the new shoots. And the fact that one is so common.

Thanks, Ron.
Would it be better to cull it now, or wait until the shoots are taller?
I'm assuming that these shoots are using energy currently stored in the rhizome
and will be an energy sink until the leaves emerge and replace that energy.

Josh

Wait until they're larger, but before they have leaves. That will "steal" the most energy from the rhizomes. Then keep a watch out for the tiny survival shoots, and make sure you remove those before there are leaves too.

Copy that! Thanks, Alan.

Josh

I just gotta throw this out there, I haven't had black in a while, dont remember what the shoots looked like, but we all know they start out green and go black after a bit, was that even worth two cent? LOL.

You can also dig down around the base of the culm to check the color of the rhizomes.

Josh

What's wrong with having a mixed grove. I think it would look great to have a mix of green and black.

Anyways if you do insist on eliminating the aurea, the shoots should be pretty easy to distinguish just by the color of the culm sheaths or branching pattern. It looks like black bamboo has fairly long internodes, and a higher branching habit than most bamboos.

Hi, Steve!
Nothing's wrong with a mixed grove, but I want an homogenous stand of Black Bamboo.

The culm sheaths are much more purple and textured than the green, and the nodes have purple hairs.

The Green Bamboo is definitely more vigorous, as well.

Josh