Sample Newsletter | Bamboo Facts
As you read this article, compare the strengths and qualities of bamboo to those traits you find in yourself.
Want to Glimpse the Future? Think Bamboo!
by Jeanette Fisher
Hot Commodity
If you’re wondering what’s will be the hot commodity in the next few years, think bamboo! Bamboo offers many advantages, not the least of which is its amazing rate of growth. In fact, no other plant in the world grows faster than bamboo. Once established, bamboo plants will send up a number of shoots that will reach their full height in just one year, which makes bamboo the champion grower of all the woody plants. In fact, the record growth in a single twenty- four period is an astounding 47.6 inches! That’s nearly four FEET in one day.
Phenomenal Growth
As for overall growth, although it’s common to see bamboo plants 100 feet tall, the largest bamboo plant ever recorded grew to a height of 180 feet. It measured more than a foot in diameter and its walls were at least an inch thick. Such growth easily qualifies bamboo as the largest member of the grass family.
Diverse and Adaptable
Bamboo is also a diverse plant, with some 1,500 known species growing on every continent in the world except Europe. Bamboo can be found in the hottest
tropical regions and on some of the loftiest mountain ranges, so there’s a species of bamboo suitable for any climate. The plant itself is generally round,
although there are some species with square stalks. Its jointed stalks are sometimes thorny and depending upon the species, the stalks can be hollow or
solid. Some bamboo species are deciduous, losing their leaves every year, while others are evergreen. Few species of plants contain so much a diversity.
Superior Strength
Another legendary trait is bamboo’s strength. It has a tensile strength superior to mild steel, able to withstand pressure of 52,000 pounds per square inch, which is superior to graphite. That means that on top of being the fastest growing woody plant and the tallest grassy plant, bamboo is also the strongest woody plant, as well ...twice as stable as oak or walnut when used in ladders or scaffolding.
Amazing and Versatile
Bamboo is truly an amazing plant, but its uses as a resource have yet to be fully tapped. It can be selectively harvested every year with no impact on the environment and no need to replant, thereby saving thousands of man hours and fuel costs. It’s an incredibly versatile building material, as well, providing income, food, and housing to 2.2 billion people around the globe...but we’we've only scratched the surface of bamboo’s true potential.
Think about your true potential and make some notes comparing your strengths to those qualities you admire in bamboo. Explore your dreams and protect your little green shoots.
Published: April 7, 2007
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