[2] Bambusa balcooa is a very large, thick-walled, clumping or sympodial bamboo:[a] growing up to a height of 25 metres (80 feet), and a thickness of 150 millimetres (6 inches).

B. balcooa has recently gained popularity in South Africa as the species of choice for commercial plantations.

Although not native to that country, it is the most prominent "giant" bamboo that is accepted as a naturalized species, since its introduction into South Africa during the 1600s.

[citation needed] Government tenders were awarded for trials and studies to determine the feasibility of large-scale cultivation of bamboo in South Africa.

], the South African government and other corporations such as ECDC have begun to realize the true economic potential of this giant bamboo in agricultural and forestry sectors.