It is a large, clump-forming evergreen bamboo, closely resembling Fargesia nitida in the same genus, but with yellow canes.

[2][3] Considered one of the most beautiful bamboos in cultivation, Fargesia murielae is native to the mountains of central China, introduced by Ernest Henry Wilson in 1913 and named after his daughter.

Its USDA plant hardiness zone is 5 through 9 which is not desirable in climates with high heat and humidity such as southeastern states.

[4][5] Fargesia murielae has been known to grow in regions of various climates that range from dry mountainsides to jungles, but in general prefers moderately fertile soil which is moist but well-drained and well aerated.

This unusual behavior has led some authors to assume that the flowering event in these bamboos is controlled not by climatic factors but by some sort of internal clock.

[10] 1892: The French missionary P. Farges collects a herbarium specimen of an unknown flowering bamboo in Sichuan Province, China.

[11] 17 May 1907: On his first expedition to China for the Arnold Arboretum, E. H. Wilson collects plants and three sterile herbarium specimens of an unknown bamboo at Fang Xian, Hubei.

[1910]: Wilson makes note of a single plant from his collection growing in the "greenhouses and frames" area of the Arnold Arboretum.

23 December 1959: U.S. National Arboretum botanist F. Meyer arranges for the importation of plants of Sinarundinaria murielae from the Royal Moerheim Nurseries, Dedemsvaart, Holland.

1979: Based on the flowering specimens of the Danish plants, T. Soderstrom proposes the name Thamnocalamus spathaceus, for the umbrella bamboo.

Based on the same specimens, other botanists argue that the species should be classified as either Fargesia murielae (Gamble) or F. spathacea (Franchet).