Definitions used with Bamboo

Bamboo Lingo

• Bamboo: a group of woody perennial grasses with segmented stalks. Bamboo is usually evergreen and is capable of growing very tall.
• Cane: a bamboo pole or stick, living or dead.
• Culm: the living cane, which when cut it is often called a "stick" or "pole."
• Node: the joint or horizontal divider between smooth spaces (internodes) of the culm.
• Internode: the smooth sections of the culm which are separated by nodes.
• Rhizome: the thick, modular, underground food storage "roots" of all bamboos.  It looks similar to the culm except that it is usually pale yellow and the internodes are short, only a few inches.  New bamboo emerges from the rhizome.
• Roots (or fibrous roots): these thin plant fibers originate and fan out from the rhizomes.  Fibrous roots collect and transport water and nutrients to the rhizome for storage.  They may be over 6' long.
• Sheath, or culm sheath: the modified leaf that enshrouds and protects the growing shoot.
• Shoot: the bamboo culm from the time it first emerges from the ground until it reaches full height, about 60-90 days.
• Sulcus: the groove in the wall of the culm directly above the branches, most prevalent in Phyllostachys bamboos, but noticeable in other genera as well.
• Phyllostachys: these bamboos are renowned for their rapid growth and size.  They are also of great economic value.  That bamboo flooring you want to put in your house—Phyllostachys.  The shoots you eat in an Asian restaurant—Phyllostachys.  Thomas Edison’s first successful bulb filament—Phyllostachys.  The sheets you can buy for your bed that feel better than cotton, even better than silk—Phyllostachys.