Broad-leaved Bamboos

Sasa is a genus of bamboo and part of the grass family (Poaceae). Sasa are characterized as being dwarf species of bamboo, typically under 2m in height, producing many thin culms from a highly branched and running root stock with only one branch per node. For their size, they have relatively large, wide leaves leading to the common name broadleaf bamboo.

All species are native to Asia, with the majority are native to Japan. Some species of Sasa have the northern-most distribution of any bamboo species and are native to Sakhalin in the Russian Far East and the nearby Kuril islands. The genus name Sasa is derived from the Japanese name sasa (笹 / ササ) meaning bamboo grass, used to distinguish Sasa from taller bamboo in Japan.