The best-known giant species is probably the Phyllostachus Pubescens (up to 15-20 m long, 10-12 cm diameter), from China, where it is called ‘moso bamboo’). In Western countries, bamboo is mostly used as a garden plant and for landscaping. Giant species, which have the most potential for industrial processing and economic development, mainly derive from (sub)tropical areas, usually in developing countries or emerging economies.Ĭhina (7 mio ha) and India (9 mio ha) have the largest stocks of bamboo forests, totalling more than half of the 32 million hectares available worldwide. World Wide DistributionĪlthough the common perception is that bamboo mainly grows in Asia, its growing area is actually evenly distributed around the globe. Because of its fast growth, the plant absorbs a large amount of CO2 from the atmosphere, providing oxygen in return, which is locked for a long time not only in the plantation but also in the high number of semi-finished materials produced from harvested bamboo (annual yield, see also chapter 4 in Booming Bamboo). Lignification (hardening of the stem) occurs within 2-3 years while maturity is attained after about 5 years, which is the moment the stem is ready for harvesting and for use in durable products in the building industry. In fact, it holds the Guinness World Record of fastest growing plant: Bamboo holds Guinness World Record for Fastest Growing Plant
During the growing season, the shoots will sprout from the ground and reach their final length of up to 30 m height within a couple of months, with a maximum recorded growing speed of up to 1 meter a day. One of the most interesting features of giant bamboo is its unsurpassed growing speed. The various sections of a mature stem are already present right from the start and extend from each other like the tubes of a sliding telescope. The thickness of the sprouting shoot determines the thickness of the mature stem as cell growth only occurs in longitudinal direction.
Unlike a tree trunk, the bamboo stem does not grow in thickness. The extensive rhizome network also helps to hold soil and restore water tables, making bamboo very suitable for reforestation on poor grounds. One single organism therefore has multiple stems. The rhizomes anchor the plant to the soil and supply it with food and water to produce new rhizomes. The plants have a root system consisting of underground parts called rhizomes from which the stems grow above the ground. These diaphragms are visible on the wall of the stem as ring-shaped protrusions and this is also where the branches with the leaves sprout from, usually from the higher nodes. In general, bamboo is hollow (although some solid species exist), with separate sections at irregular distances formed by transverse diaphragms in the cavity of the stem. Stems are larger in fertile, moist climates and smaller in dry sandy climates. Depending on the climatic circumstances, there can also be a lot of variation in size and quality of the stems from the same species. Some giant species reach up to 30 m with cross sections of up to 30 cm per stem, whereas some sorts do not reach above 1 m in height and 1 cm in diameter. There are considerable differences in size, colour, node distribution and configuration, mechanical properties and climatic preferences.
Although the complete taxonomy is still evolving, current estimations are that around 1500 different varieties exist. Bamboo is a collective name for a group of botanical species. From a botanical point of view, bamboo belongs to the grasses, the Graminea, and is therefore not a tree.
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