Family: Poaceae
Common name: Bamboo
Bamboo is an ever-green non-fussy plant that recently moved from the forest to the living room. Now, there are lucky bamboo plants in small bowls, small bunches of bamboo stalks arranged neatly in a circle, long spiral bamboo stalks that grow in oversized pots, water bamboo for the water body in your garden, and the normal, huge bamboo you’ve always seen. They are one of the fastest growing plants in the world, sometimes growing as fast as 36 inches in a day. Bamboos are grown as ornamental plants, bordering plants like hedges, or for afforestation covering huge areas.
The two types of bamboo are ‘clumping’ and ‘running’ types. Clumping type grows slower and is ideal for homes, whereas running type grows so fast that it needs to be controlled. In the wild, bamboo leaves and stalks are food for pandas, rats, chimpanzees and elephants.
Bamboo shoots are used in cooking in most Asian countries. The hollow stalks of Bamboo is used cook rice, soups and tea. Bamboo stem is used to make furniture, huts, bridges, scaffolding, pen, fabric, woodwind instruments and even weapons.
Propagation is through stem cuttings. Parent plants also grow small saplings around it when planted on the ground.
