Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. Download high resolution version (546x802, 112 KB)Bamboo trees in Kyoto, Japan. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae Monocotyledons or monocots are a group of flowering plants usually ranked as a class and once called the Monocotyledoneae. ... Families (APG) Anarthriaceae Bromeliaceae Centrolepidaceae Cyperaceae Ecdeiocoleaceae Eriocaulaceae Flagellariaceae Hydatellaceae Joinvilleaceae Juncaceae Mayacaceae Poaceae Rapateaceae Restionaceae Sparganiaceae Thurniaceae Typhaceae Xyridaceae The Poales is a cosmopolitan order of monocotyledonous flowering plants. ... Genera See: List of Poaceae genera The true grasses are monocot (class Liliopsida) plants of the family Poaceae (formerly Graminae). ... Genera See text The Bambusoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a organic material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. ... A Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Genera See: List of Poaceae genera The true grasses are monocot (class Liliopsida) plants of the family Poaceae (formerly Graminae). ... Genera See text The Bambusoideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae. ...

Bamboos are found in diverse climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions. They occur from Northeast Asia (at 50°N latitude in Sakhalin), south throughout East Asia west to the Himalaya, and south to northern Australia. They also occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Americas from the southeast of the USA south to Chile, there reaching their furthest south anywhere, at 47°S latitude. Major areas with no native bamboos include Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, northern North America, most of Australia and Antarctica. The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... Sakhalin is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N, in Far East, Russia. ... East Asia can be defined in either cultural or geographic terms. ... The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. ... Satellite image The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ...

Biology

The stems, or 'culms', can range in height from a few centimeters to 40 metres, with stem diameters ranging from 1 mm to 30 cm. The stems are jointed, with regular nodes; each node bears one leaf, and may also have one to several side branches. They are thus, unlike most other grasses, extensively branched; in large-growing species a single stem may carry many thousands of branchlets. A culm was originally a stem of any type of plant. ...

Many of the larger bamboos are very tree-like in appearance, but perhaps illogically they are rarely called trees, despite that term being a growth form, not a botanical term. For comparison, palms, which like bamboos are monocotyledons, are equally dissimilar to other trees, yet are usually called trees. The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae or Palmaceae), the Palm Family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order, Arecales. ... Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae Monocotyledons or monocots are a group of flowering plants usually ranked as a class and once called the Monocotyledoneae. ...

A single stem of bamboo from an established root system typically reaches full height in just one year, but then persists for several years, gradually increasing the number of side branches and branchlets. In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem). ...

Some species of bamboo rarely flower, some of them only every 10-100 or more years. Some of these species are monocarpic, the plant dying after the seed matures. Furthermore, all the individuals of the species will flower at the same time in a large geographical region. This is thought to be a defence against predators of the seed, who would be unable to depend on a predictable food supply. Wildflowers A flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... A hapaxanth is a plant that flowers only once in its lifetime. ...

Cultivation

Bamboo foliage with yellow stems (probably Phyllostachys aurea)

Bamboo foliage with black stems (probably Phyllostachys nigra)

Many bamboos are popular in cultivation as garden plants. In cultivation, care needs to be taken of their potential for invasive behaviour. They spread mainly through their roots and/or rhizomes, which can spread widely underground and send off new culms to break through the surface. There are two patterns for the spreading of bamboo, "clumping" (monopodial) and "running" (sympodial). Clumping bamboo species tend to spread underground slowly. Running bamboo species are highly variable in their tendency to spread; this is related to both the species and the soil and climate conditions. Some can send out runners several metres a year, while others can stay in the same general area for long periods. If neglected, they can be invasive over time and can cause problems by moving into adjacent areas. Once established as a grove, it is difficult to completely remove bamboo without digging up the entire network of underground rhizomes. If bamboo must be removed, an alternative to digging it up is to cut down the culms, and then repeatedly mow down new shoots as they arise, until the root system exhausts its energy supply and dies. The reputation of bamboo as being highly invasive is often exaggerated, and situations where it has taken over large areas is often the result of years of untended or neglected plantings over a number of years. Download high resolution version (772x1046, 50 KB)Bamboo foliage - photo User:MPF Probably Phyllostachys aurea File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (772x1046, 50 KB)Bamboo foliage - photo User:MPF Probably Phyllostachys aurea File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (672x991, 54 KB)Bamboo foliage - photo User:MPF Probably Phyllostachys nigra File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (672x991, 54 KB)Bamboo foliage - photo User:MPF Probably Phyllostachys nigra File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Part of a garden in Bristol, England A flower bed in the gardens of Bristol Zoo, England. ... In botany, a rhizome is a horizontal, usually underground stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. ... For the heavy metal band see Soil (band) Soil is the layer of minerals and organic matter, in thickness from centimetres to a metre or more, on the land surface. ...

There are two main ways to prevent the spread of running bamboo into adjacent areas. The first involves surrounding it with a physical barrier, usually a special, high density, plastic roll material made for this purpose; this is placed in a 60-90 cm (2-3 feet) deep ditch around the planting, and angled out at the top to direct the rhizomes to the surface. The second method is rhizome pruning, which involves taking a sharp spade and cutting down into the ground 30 cm (1 foot) all along the perimeter that is to be maintained. The root system is generally very close to the surface, so, if rhizome pruning is done twice a year, it will sever most, if not all, of the new growth. Since the new roots are dependent on older parts of the root system for nourishment, anything beyond the shovel cut will die in the ground and be unable to reestablish itself.

Established bamboo will send up shoots that generally grow to their full height in a single season, making it the fastest growing woody plant. Several subtropical bamboo species can grow 30 cm (1 foot) per day, with some species having been documented as growing over 100 cm in one day. For the species most widely cultivated in gardens, 3-5 cm per day is more typical. A newly transplanted bamboo plant can take 1-2 years before it sends up new shoots (culms) and will have many seasons of "sizing up" before new shoots achieve the maximum potential height for that species.

Uses

Bamboo sprouts are eaten in Asia

The shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of bamboo are edible and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms. However, the shoots of some species contain toxins that need to be leached or boiled out before they can be eaten safely. Download high resolution version (1038x499, 115 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1038x499, 115 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ...

Bamboo scaffolding can reach great heights

Bamboo forms a very hard wood, especially when seasoned, making it useful for many things such as houses (in tropical climates), fences, bridges, walking sticks, furniture, food steamers, toys, construction scaffolding, hats, abaci and various musical instruments such as the shakuhachi. Modern companies are attempting to popularize flooring made of bamboo pieces steamed, flattened, glued together, finished, and cut. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 626 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 626 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Bamboo scaffolding can reach great heights Scaffolding is a temporary modular system of metal pipes (termed tubes in Britain) forming a framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. ... An abacus is a calculation tool, often constructed as a wooden frame with beads sliding on wires. ... Shakuhachi, showing utaguchi (blowing edge) and inlay The shakuhachi (←八尺—) is a Japanese end-blown flute which is held vertically like a recorder instead of being held transversely like the familiar Western transverse flute. ...

Bamboo houses in Seram, Indonesia (adjacent plants are bananas)

When bamboo is harvested for wood, care is needed to select mature stems that are several years old, as first-year stems, although full size, are not fully woody and are not strong. Download high resolution version (1000x538, 176 KB)Bamboo house on Seram, Indonesia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1000x538, 176 KB)Bamboo house on Seram, Indonesia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Species Hybrid origin; see text A banana is a tree-like plant (though strictly an herb) of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, closely related to plantains. ...

Bamboo canes are normally round in cross-section, but square canes can be produced by forcing the new young culms to grow through a tube of square cross-section and slightly smaller than the culm's natural diameter, thereby constricting the growth to the shape of the tube. Every few days the tube is removed and replaced higher up the fast-growing culm.

Bamboo has been used to make paper in China since early times. A high quality hand-made paper is still produced in small quantities. Coarse bamboo paper is still used to make spirit money in many Chinese communities. Paper is a thin, flat material produced by the compression of fibres. ... This article is about the Chinese Ghost Festival. ...

Cultural aspects

Bamboo's long life makes it a Chinese symbol of long life, while in India it is a symbol of friendship. Its rare blossoming has led to the flowers' being regarded as a sign of impending famine. Several Asian cultures, including that of the Andaman Islands, believe that humanity emerged from a bamboo stem. Malaysian legends include the story of a man who dreams of a beautiful woman while sleeping under a bamboo plant; he wakes up and breaks the bamboo stem, discovering the woman inside. In the Philippines, bamboo crosses are used as a good luck charm by farmers. In Japan, a bamboo forest surrounds a Shinto shrine as part of a sacred barrier against evils. Also, bamboo is considered second in the rank in the order of "Matsu (pine wood), Take (bamboo), Ume (prune)" and this order is used when ordering a sushi course or getting a room in a traditional inn. Ethnolinguistic map of the precolonial Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands are a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India. ... A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars intersecting each other at a 90° angle, dividing one or two of the lines in half. ...

Other aspects

Soft bamboo shoots, stems and leaves are the major food source of the Giant Panda of China and the Spider monkey. Binomial name Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869) The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca black-and-white cat-foot) is a mammal now usually classified in the bear family, Ursidae, that is native to central China. ... Species Ateles paniscus Ateles belzebuth Ateles chamek Ateles hybridus Ateles marginatus Ateles fusciceps Ateles geoffroyi Spider monkeys are New World monkeys of the family Atelidae, subfamily Atelinae. ...

Genera

Dendrocalamus spp.

The tribe Bambuseae comprises around 1,000 species, distributed into numerous tribes, subtribes and about 91 genera: Bambusa vulgaris (bamboo) Photo taken by author Photo downloaded frol Polish Wikipedia : [[1]] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Bambusa vulgaris (bamboo) Photo taken by author Photo downloaded frol Polish Wikipedia : [[1]] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In biology, a species is a kind of organism. ... Viewed historically or developmentally, a tribe consists of a social formation existing before the development of, or outside of, states. ... See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. ...

• Subtribe Arthrostylidiinae (13 genera)
  • Actinocladum
  • Alvimia
  • Apoclada
  • Arthrostylidium
  • Athroostachys
  • Atractantha
  • Aulonemia (Matudacalamus)
  • Colanthelia
  • Elytrostachys
  • Glaziophyton
  • Merostachys
  • Myriocladus
  • Rhipidocladum

• Subtribe Arundinariinae (16 genera)
  • Acidosasa
  • Ampelocalamus
  • Arundinaria
  • Borinda
  • Chimonocalamus
  • Drepanostachyum (Himalayacalamus)
  • Fargesia
  • Ferrocalamus
  • Gaoligongshania
  • Gelidocalamus
  • Indocalamus
  • Oligostachyum
  • Pseudosasa
  • Sasa
  • Thamnocalamus
  • Yushania

• Subtribe Bambusinae (10 genera)
  • Bambusa (Dendrocalamopsis)
  • Bonia (Monocladus)
  • Dendrocalamus (Klemachloa, Oreobambos, Oxynanthera, Sinocalamus)
  • Gigantochloa
  • Dinochloa
  • Holttumochloa
  • Kinabaluchloa (Maclurochloa, Soejatmia)
  • Melocalamus
  • Sphaerobambos
  • Thyrsostachys

• Subtribe Chusqueinae (2 genera)
  • Chusquea
  • Nerolepis

• Subtribe Guaduinae (5 genera)
  • Criciuma
  • Eremocaulon
  • Guadua
  • Olmeca
  • Otatea

• Subtribe Melocanninae (9 genera)
  • Cephalostachyum
  • Davidsea
  • Leptocanna
  • Melocanna
  • Neohouzeaua
  • Ochlandra
  • Pseudostachyum
  • Schizostachyum
  • Teinostachyum

• Subtribe Nastinae (6 genera)
  • Decaryochloa
  • Greslania
  • Hickelia
  • Hitchcockella
  • Nastus
  • Perrierbambus

• Subtribe Racemobambodinae (1 genus)
  • Racemobambos (Neomicrocalamus, Vietnamosasa)

• Subtribe Shibataeinae (8 genera)
  • Chimonobambusa
  • Indosasa
  • Phyllostachys
  • Qiongzhuea
  • Semiarundianria (Brachystachyum)
  • Shibataea
  • Sinobambusa
  • Temburongia (of uncertain classification)

Species Arundinaria amabilis Arundinaria gigantea Arundinaria simonii about 50 more Arundinaria Michx. ... Species - giant blue bamboo - Burgundy-red-culmed borinda Borinda is a new genus of clumping bamboos, erected in 1994 by Stapleton. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Criciuma is a city located in south of Brazil in Santa Catarina state, around 900 km south of Sao Paulo. ... Olmec stone head The Olmec were an ancient people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, roughly what would now be the Veracruz and Tabasco regions of the Mexican isthmus. ... Species See text Otatea is a genus of clumping bamboos found in the Americas. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Categories: Plant stubs ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ... Genera Many, see text Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae. ...

See also

• Japanese knotweed

Binomial name Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. ...

References

• But, Paul Pui-Hay, et. al. 1985. Hong Kong Bamboos. Urban Council, Hong Kong.

External links

• The American Bamboo Society (http://www.americanbamboo.org/)
• The bambouseraie at Anduze - Gard - France (http://www.bambouseraie.fr/)
• Bambubrasileiro.com (http://www.bambubrasileiro.com/i1.html)
• International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) (http://www.inbar.int/index.htm)
• terrabambu.net (Italian Bamboo Society) (http://www.terrabambu.net/)
• joaobambu.com (http://www.joaobambu.com/blog) Blogging/Photography/Articles/Activism about Bamboo from Personal Experiences and Friends CHINA, COLOMBIA, USA, & BRAZIL
• Flickr.com - Photo sharing: public fotos tagged with bamboo, over 1800 photos of various species/bamboo construction/building/objects/weaving/etc (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/bamboo)
• About Guadua Angustifolia (http://www.koolbamboo.com/aboutguadua.htm)