Chapter V.— THE BAMBOOS.^ 



Bamboos are found in all tropical and subtropical regions 

 of the world, especially in those of Asia, including Poly- 

 nesia, and South America. They are entirely absent from 

 Europe, except as introduced and cultivated forms. 



The stems or culms of bamboos are cylindric, generally 

 hollow, and separated by partitions into joints. These par- 

 titions are known as nodes, the parts between them as 

 internodes. The thickness of the culms and the length of 

 the internodes vary greatly in different species. 



New stems are generally developed at the beginning of 

 the rainy season. Cloudy days, however, are said to retard 

 the growth of the culms. The young shoots grow very 

 rapidly and reach their full growth in height and thickness 

 in less than a year. After full height is attained, the stem 

 develops branches and branchlets, and in most species the 

 plant assumes a feathery appearance. The culms are not 

 considered mature until their branches are fully formed. 

 The number of shoots produced yearly from each clump of 

 bamboo varies with the vigor of the individual and the 

 habits of the species. In India, the mean age of most 

 species of bamboo is considered to be 30 years; the larger 

 species producing 12 to 20 culms annually and the smaller 

 ones 30 to 50 culms. It is believed that in the Philippines 



^ It will not always be feasible to treat in this bulletin each species 

 of bamboo in detail, as the general appearance of many species is 

 so strikingly similar that the basis for differentiating one from 

 another rests mainly, or sometimes entirely, on peculiarities in the 

 structure and appearance of the flower. Unfortunately, many species 

 are rarely seen in flower, which adds to the difficulty of distinguishing 

 the species. 



The description of bamboos in this bulletin is based chiefly on the 

 following publications: J. S. Gamble: The Bambuseae of British 

 India. Philippine Journal of Science, Sec. C, September, 1910: The 

 Bamboos of the Philippines. Sir G. Watt: The Commercial Products 

 of India. 

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