Sasa sp. - bamboo species

Putting the right name to the various low-growing mat-like bamboo species is impossible, at least for Europeans. The bamboo which has grown and spread for decades through Alppiruusulaakso (Rhododendron Valley) is unnamed, but it is certainly the oldest living bamboo in Finland.

These low-growing Sasa-bamboos, which in the wild favour the moist slopes of maritime mountains, spread so vigorously that they prevent other plants growing. In Finland the evergreen bamboos are fated to die through the drying effects of frost unless they have snow cover. The leaf edges of many species turn yellow in autumn.