Bamboo - The Fastest Growing Plant on Earth
Bamboo is a perennial evergreen in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae.bambus Its stems, called culms, are hollow and strong, but much lighter in weight than woody tree stems of similar diameter.bambus Bamboos have a dense, tussock-like appearance and are some of the fastest-growing plants on Earth.bambus The hollow stems of many bamboos are used as building materials, and large culms can be split lengthwise to make poles or planks. Bamboo shoots are also harvested as food and are edible in a variety of ways.
The first bamboos were introduced into Western gardens in the early to mid-19th Century.bambus Tropical species such as Phyllostachys and Arundinaria were the first to arrive, while temperate ones such as Fargesia arrived later.bambus The plants largely came from Asia and were transported across the world by plant hunters and garden enthusiasts.bambus
In 1753, Carl Linnaeus formally classified bamboo in his landmark work Species Plantarum under the genus name Arundo bambos.bambus The naming marked bamboo’s entry into the modern system of botanical taxonomy, and laid the groundwork for bamboo’s scientific recognition.bambus
Some bamboos can grow to immense heights with single, thick culms.bambus bambus Unlike trees, a single culm will not break into branches or produce new shoots until it reaches its mature height.bambus At that point, the culm will become hollow, and the internodal regions (the spaces within a cross section) of the culm are filled with pulpy xylem rather than the solid, cylindrical woody xylem of monocots.bambus
Compared to the rapid rate of growth of a bamboo stem, its rhizomes are extremely slow-growing.bambus This explains why bamboos are generally considered non-invasive, in contrast to some of their relatives such as the invasive weed papyrus.bambus The bamboo rhizomes spread only by sending up shoots at nodes, and the frequency of these sprouts is dependent on species, soil, and climate conditions.bambus Bamboo rhizomes can be either “clumping” or “running” in their tendencies to spread, with the latter being more invasive than the former.
Most bamboos flower only a few times in their lifetime, and the timing varies from species to species.bambus Some species exhibit mass flowering, with all the plants in a cohort blooming at the same time over an extended period.bambus This phenomenon is called gregarious flowering and occurs in bamboos such as Phyllostachys, Bambusa, and Arundinaria.
Cultivated bamboos can be prone to a wide range of pests and diseases.bambus Most bamboos purchased from nurseries in the US and mainland Europe are susceptible to bamboo mites, which can disfigure and even kill the plants if not controlled.bambus Buying Asian bamboos from specialist horticultural importers can be safer, but it is still a good idea to inspect the bamboo plants for signs of pests before buying them. Most garden centers in the UK source their bamboos from specialist growers, who can better ensure that they are free of pests and disease. The exception is Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), which requires very special care and handling to prevent the spread of the parasitic bamboo mite.