title: Shibataea kumasaca
text: # Shibataea kumasaca
  
  Shibataea kumasaca (倭竹), the ruscus-leaf bamboo or ruscus bamboo, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family, native to mountain slopes in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces in China, and widely cultivated elsewhere. Growing to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall, it is a compact, clump-forming evergreen bamboo.
  
  In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. As with other cultivated bamboos it can become invasive in favourable conditions, via its creeping rootstock.
  
  ## Japanese synonym
  
  Two groups around the world have different beliefs about the correct name of this species. Some cite Japanese origins with the correct name being Shibataea kumasasa. Another group refers to it as Shibataea kumasaca, the Latinized name. Taxonomic authorities have yet to settle the issue.
  
  