Bamboo is considered a grass, but it varies in height from dwarf, one foot (30 cm)
plants to giant timber bamboos that can grow to over 100 feet (40 m). It grows
in many different climates, from jungles to high on mountain sides. Bamboos
are further classified by the types of roots they have. Some, called runners,
spread exuberantly, and others are classified as clumpers, which slowly
expand from the original planting. There are also varieties of root systems
that are a mixture of these types. Generally, the tropical bamboos tend to be
clumpers and the temperate bamboos tend to be runners.
Bamboo is both decorative and useful. In many parts of the world it is food,
fodder, the primary construction material and is used for making great variety
of useful objects from kitchen tools, to paper to dinnerware.
The species most-often identified with the giant panda is Gelidocalamus
fangianus, but Fargesia spathacea, Sinarundinaria chungii, Sinarundinaria
nitida, and Sinarundinaria fangiana are common bamboos in the panda's home
range. Try and say those names with a mouth full of peanut butter. For that matter, try to say them without a mouthful of peanut butter.
In the world of flowering plants, known technically as the angiosperms, are two great subdivisions, the monocots and the dicots. Bamboo is a monocot.
There is a lot of confusion in the naming of bamboos. There are both common
names, which vary from place to place, even within one country; and there are
the botanical names, which vary less from place to place, but are still not
well-standardized. For a explanation of why this is, Gib Cooper has written a
short discussion of the taxonomy problem.
Taxonomy
Botanically, bamboo is classified thusly:
KINGDOM: Plantae
PHYLUM (DIVISION): Magnoliophyta
CLASS: Liliopsida
SUBCLASS: Commelinidae
ORDER: Cyperales
FAMILY: Gramineae (Poaceae)
SUBFAMILY: Bambusoideae
TRIBE: Bambuseae
SUBTRIBE: bambusinae
The Class, Subclass, and Order classifications are according to
Cronquist (1988). The levels below Order can vary depending on whose
classification you use. The ones shown above are widely accepted.
For a thorough treatment of monocots as a whole see: Dahlgren, R. et al. 1985.
The Families of the Monocotyledons: structure, evolution, and taxonomy.
Springer-Verlag: Berlin.
Bamboo As Food
Bamboo shoots are usually cooked before eating as some may contain cyanogens.
This is not a problem with most temperate bamboos, and most can be eaten
without cooking if they are not too bitter. The only Phyllostachys known to
have potentially toxic concentrations of cyanogens is Ph. heterocycla
pubescens, also known as Ph. edulis and as Moso. Though it is the most
important temperate bamboo for shoots, due to it's early season, its size and
the amount grown, it is usually somewhat bitter, and is always cooked before
eating, Even though most bamboo growers often snack on some of the shoots
while working with bamboo in the shooting season, eating a significant amount
of raw shoots at one time might not be advisable unless one is sure of their
safety. Properly prepared bamboo shoots are a safe, tasty and exotic addition
to the table. The Washington State Extension Service has prepared a brochure
about bamboo shoots (you will need Adobe Reader to view the file) with
nutrition, preparation and storage information.
Bamboo foliage is good fodder for some types of animals as well.
Q. I've heard that bamboo is the fastest-growing plant. Just how fast does
it grow?
David Farrelly, in his The Book of Bamboo,
says that bamboo has been measured to grow 47.6 inches in a 24-hour period.
Other sources specify it was a Japanese scientist who measured the growth of a
Phyllostachys bambusoides. That must have been under ideal conditions of heat,
humidity and very fertile soil. But, in the less than perfect conditions in my
garden, I've seen new shoots of Phyllostachys nigra 'Henon' grow about a foot
a day. What's most remarkable is that eight-inch diameter, 60 to 80 foot tall
bamboos have reached that height in one growing season, which might have been
as short as two months.
Q. Will bamboo grow where we have cold winters?
There are bamboos that will grow, though
perhaps not thrive, where the winters sometimes reach -20° F. The American Bamboo Society has a species
source List which lists cold-hardy species.
Bamboo and Rattan Facts
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A sixty foot tree cut for market takes 60 years to replace. A sixty foot
bamboo cut for market takes 59 days to replace.
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Over one billion people in the world live in bamboo houses.
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The world trade in bamboo and rattan is currently estimated at 14 billion US
dollars every year.
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The majority of bamboo and rattan harvested for market is harvested by women
and children, most of whom live at or below subsistence levels in developing
countries. These products are their only means of survival.
More on Bamboo
Bamboos are giant, woody grasses which put out several full length,
full diameter, naturally pre-finished, ready-to-use culms ("stems") each year.
A single bamboo clump can produce up to 15 kilometres of usable pole (up to 30
cm in diameter) in its lifetime.
Bamboo is the most diverse group of plants in the grass family, and the most
primitive sub-family. It is distinguished by a woody culm, complex branching,
a generally robust rhizome system and infrequent flowering.
It has a tropical and subtropical (cosmopolitan) distribution, ranging from 46
N to 47S latitude, reaching elevations as high as 4,000 m in the Himalayas and
parts of China. Bamboo is very adaptable, with some species being deciduous
and others evergreen.
The taxonomy of the bamboo remains poorly understood, though the general
consensus seems to be that bamboo numbers between 60 and 90 genera with 1,100
to 1,500 species.
Described as the 'wood of the poor' (India), 'friend of the people' (China)
and 'brother' (Vietnam), bamboo is a wonder plant that grows over wide areas
of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. Millions of people depend on
this plant for their livelihood. It has become so much a part of the culture
and memory of societies that the existence of a Bamboo Age has not been ruled
out.
Its use in food and cooking goes far back in history. Exports of bamboo shoots
from Taiwan alone amount to $50 million (US). Apart from traditional uses,
bamboo has many new applications as a substitute for fast depleting wood and
as an alternative to more expensive materials.
Modern paper industry has expanded to such an extent that 2.2 million tonnes
of bamboo are used in India for this purpose.
Bamboo furniture is an expanding business. In the Philippines, between
1985-1994, exports rose from $625,000 to $1.2 million.
Bamboo's potential for checking soil erosion and for road embankment
stabilization are now becoming known. It is equally important for providing
fast vegetative cover to deforested areas.
Bamboo's role in the construction field is equally substantial. Hundreds of
millions of people live in houses made from bamboo. In Bangladesh, 73% of the
population live in bamboo houses. It provides pillars, walls, window frames,
rafters, room separators, ceilings and roofs.
In Borneo and in the Naga Hills of India, large communal houses of 100 feet in
length have been built of bamboo. Throughout rural Asia it is used for
building bridges, from the sophisticated technology of suspension bridges to
the simpler pontoon bridges. Bamboo scaffoldings are found throughout Asia,
and they are employed on the high rise structures of Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Bamboo is also used for musical instruments of all three types: percussion or
hammer instruments, wind instruments, and stringed instruments. In Java, 20
different musical instruments have been fashioned of bamboo. The flute may
have been invented by cave people toying with a hollow bamboo stem.
About Rattan
Rattans are spiny climbing palms in the tropical forests that can attain
lengths of over 185 meters. There are 13 rattan genera with 700 known species.
Growing in the tropics and sub-tropics, rattan, or cane as it is commonly
known, is a ready source for the cane furniture industry. It is collected from
the wild forests throughout Southeast Asia and is the most vital forest
produce after timber. It also has a significance social impact. It provides
sustainable income to some of the most disadvantaged segments of people living
in and on the fringes of forests.
Because of its strength and flexibility, the stem of rattan is used
extensively in the manufacture of cane furniture and in matting. Other uses of
rattan, mostly in the rural areas, are for cordage, in construction, basketry,
thatching and matting. Long before the Portuguese discovered the trade route
to the East and took back rattan (along with the other wonder, spices) it had
been an invaluable part of the life of the rural folk throughout Southeast
Asia.
Even at the beginning of the century, rattan trade had been considerable, with
Singapore as the main clearinghouse. With practically no rattan resources,
Singapore earned more than $21 million (US) from the processing and
manufacture of semi-finished goods.
In the 1970s, Indonesia became the major supplier of rattan, accounting for
nearly 70 percent of the entire global trade. Since then, the trade profile
had undergone dramatic changes. The value of export has increased a stupendous
250-fold in just 17 years in Indonesia. The rise has been 75-fold in 15 years
in the Philippines, 23-fold in 9 years in Thailand and 12-fold in 8 years in
Malaysia. Indonesia, the market leader, has now set its target for exports at
$700 million (US), while Singapore aims at a target of $60 million.
Trade in rattan has burgeoned into a multimillion-dollar industry. Trade in
raw rattan worldwide was in the order of $50 million. By the time the finished
product reaches the consumer, its value has increased to $1.2 billion.
Overall, the global trade is worth $4 billion and domestic trade $2.5 million.
Rattan is increasing in popularity because it is easy to work with, requiring
only simple tools and low-cost machines. It lends itself to uncomplicated
labour-intensive processing and thus generates diverse employment, and its
manufacturing costs are minimal. It is environmentally friendly and
biodegradable: it "hugs" the trees and saves them from the logger's axe by
providing equal or more benefit than the companion tree, without disturbing
the natural habitat.
Rattan has a unique beauty in the finished goods form, reflecting the
traditional skills and the unique allure of material fashioned by human hands.
Rattan products have come to be cherished throughout the world for their
elegance and simplicity.
Ecologically, rattan is very important. It grows in degraded forests and in
marginal soil. It can also be introduced artificially in natural forests
without disturbing the existing structure and balance.