Valiha (plant)

Valiha is a bamboo genus in the tribe Bambuseae found in Madagascar. The genus is named after a musical instrument, the valiha, which was formerly constructed from the culms of this plant.^[1] It may have come from Proto-Austronesian *balija or *baliga referring to Dendrocalamus strictus used to make cutting blades and beaters due to its hard properties – the beater tool also called a belira or balila in many related Austronesian languages – later transferred to newly discovered Malagasy bamboos.^[2]

Valiha
Type specimen of Valiha diffusa at the MNHN, Paris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Bambusoideae
Tribe:	Bambuseae
Subtribe:	Hickeliinae
Genus:	Valiha S.Dransf.
Species
Valiha diffusa Valiha perrieri