Awi Tela (Gigantochloa hasskarliana)

Family: Poaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Gigantochloa hasskarliana or Awi Tela is a clump-forming bamboo with short rhizome that usually grows in Southeast Asia. It is evergreen and perennial, and grows up to 6 m tall and 50 mm in diameter at the base. The leaves are narrow and sword-shaped. The young shoots are edible - eaten as a side dish or cooked in soups and stews. Awi Tela is also planted as a hedge, or to prevent soil erosion on steep hills.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Shoots

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet flavourful qualities. — Young stem - cooked.; Eaten as a side dish with rice, or cooked in soups and stews.Highly esteemed in Indonesia for their sweet flavourful qualities.

Habitat & North American Range

A plant of the lowland tropics. In Java it grows in the lower mountain forests. It is usually in slightly shady places. (Zone 10)