A clumping bamboo is botanically classed as a "sympodial" species. The larger of the species, usually originate in the tropics and the smaller clumpers prefer the cooler alpine regions. The new growth springs up from near the base of the mother plant to form, typically, isolated culms radiating from a centre and growing outward in all directions to form a circular mass of vegetation.

A running bamboo is botanically classed as a "monopodial" species. It is usually a temperate zone originator characterised by the development of an open network of horizontal underground stems called rhizomes, from which the new culms grow. This invasive habit has earned this group the name of "running" bamboo. The picture below displays the rhizome form which gives the bamboos belonging to the monopodial group it’s fantastic yield in commercial farming, and it’s mythical lack of controllability.

As a natural and renewable resource bamboo offers Australia an opportunity to turn away from the destruction of our native forests towards managed commercial plantations that can be selectively harvested annually without the destruction of the grove or stand. Tree plantations obviously have to be chopped down and their nutrient arrest terminated at harvest. Bamboo keeps on keeping on, with edible shoots capable of extraction after less than five years. Timber is available after seven years, then just continuing on for decades or centuries into the future with minimum soil disturbance. The ability of bamboo to rapidly accumulate a high volume of tissue, or bio mass, has gained the attention of industrial and municipal engineers seeking to establish environmentally safe and reliable ways of taking up excess nutrients contained in waste waters from manufacturing, intensive livestock farming and sewerage plants. Trial plantations are expected to secure an advantage over other cropping systems. This is because of bamboo's inherently faster growth rate, massive size, and ever green all year round cover and the very important fact that bamboo can be harvested without the destruction of the grove or stand.

Bamboo grows in a fashion that is quite different from the way that a tree develops. A tree has a layer of living tissue around the outside of it's trunk just beneath the bark. Left alone this layer of tissue adds an ever increasing circle of wood around the central mass which you can recognise as the concentric annual rings in cut timber. Not so bamboo. The bamboo stems emerge from the ground as buds with the same diameter as the final stem. All they do is grow longer in much the same way as a telescope, extending at a very rapid rate that can be in excess of a metre a day in a mature stand. When the culm is around three quarters to two thirds tall the elongation will tend to taper. However, they will remain the same diameter and possibly only grow another 10% taller as they mature over the next twelve months. When the culm has reached full height branches will start to appear and depending on species a new shoot can be fully developed within three months. During the shooting stage the new culm will be at least 85% water and it is imperative that sufficient water is supplied to fill these vertical liquid columns. If timber is to be harvested, there will be at least a three year wait for the water content to diminish, thus allowing the tensile strength to increase.

Bamboo is a member of the botanical tribe of Gramineae with over 70 genera of reputedly 1500 species whose woody stems called culms can have a mature size ranging from 100 mm to 36 metres with individual culms growing up to 30 cm in diameter.

FAQs Archive - Page 6 of 6 - Bamboo Australia

Q: What is a Bamboo Shoot?

It is the newly emerged culm that is cut and harvested as a vegetable. As a general rule, the base diameter will be around a third of the height. Once harvested it is cooked, sliced and added to Asian food dishes. It's surprising how many people have eaten bamboo shoots without even knowing. Once having tasted freshly grown and cooked bamboo shoot, you will never forget the unique taste and will be delighted with the sumptuous flavour that will vary from species to species. The quantity of new shoots and their size varies within a particular species, depending on soil and air temperature, the availability of water and especially upon the age of the plant itself.

Q: What is a bamboo Bench top?

Rectangular strips of dried/cured bamboo are glued and assembled in a tray that is fed into a heat curing press to produce single layer sheets that once cured are glued together in multiple layers to achieve a specified thickness.

FAQs

What is a Bamboo Shoot?

What is a Clumper?

What is a bamboo Bench top?

What is a Runner?

Why Grow Bamboo?

How does it grow?

What is bamboo?

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