Several forms and cultivars of this species exist in a variety of culm color patterns. "P. aureosulcata" f. "spectabilis" reverses the colors of the typical form with yellow culms and a green sulcus. This form has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The form "aureocaulis" has all-yellow culms and the cultivar 'Lama Temple' has culms of a brighter yellow that taper more rapidly to a shorter overall height. 'Harbin' has green culms with multiple vertical ridges and irregular streaks of yellow. Culms of 'Harbin Inversa' appear yellow with many thin green streaks, while lacking the ridges characteristic of 'Harbin.'