Bamboo Plants Are One of the World's Most Useful and Versatile Plants

By Debbie Ray

Bamboo plants are among the world's most useful and versatile plant. Unlike trees, bamboo grows at an fast rate of up to 2 inches per hour. This makes it the world's fastest growing plant. There are some instances, the bamboo plant can grow up to 4 meters in a day.

Unlike many would believe, bamboo plants are not trees. In fact, they are evergreen grasses. These grasses are divided into 91 unique genera, with over 1,000 specific plants currently known. As each species can be used for different things, this variety works to ensure the lasting survival of this plant.

This fast growing rate makes bamboo plants invaluable in eastern regions such as India, China and Japan. As the bamboo plants can be used as food, wood and fuel, the fast growing rate makes this renewable resource a cornerstone of those societies. As bamboo, when properly treated, can be extremely durable and long lasting, it provides an easy solution to many problems.

One of the most common uses of bamboo plants is their cultivation as wood. In construction, bamboo can create large, stable scaffoldings, provide a base wood over slower growing trees, and provide decorative value to both the interior and exterior of a house. Other uses of bamboo wood include tools such as durable cutting boards, chop sticks, tables and other pieces of furniture as well as components in well known games such as go.

When bamboo plants are just sprouting, the shoots can be eaten. As an example, the giant bamboo contains cyanide within the shoots. Cyanide can be deadly to humans.

Many types of animals live by consuming bamboo. Most notably is the panda, which only eats bamboo stalks and leaves.

Although bamboo serves several purposes in society, bamboo plants do not come without faults. The bamboo plant, for reasons yet proven by research, tend to have mass blooming and fruiting seasons. Most notably in the Bay of Bengal, where the bamboo plants fruit once every 30 to 35 years.

This mass blooming and fruiting cases dire consequences to human populations nearby. As the fruit ripens, rats gather in mass. As the rats gather in mass, the can cause economic and health problems to people. This can then cause many human deaths, as there is little that can be done to stop the fruiting once it has begun.

Bamboo is a flexible plant and can thrive in many areas across the globe. They are most commonly found in East Asia, although they can mature in sub-Saharan Africa, North and South America. Bamboo does not grow in Europe, North Africa, western Asia, Canada and Antarctica.

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