Is bamboo a tree? What is its identity?

If you look for products made of wood recently, you can see a lot of products made of bamboo at relatively low prices in many product groups. As the processing technology for bamboo is gradually developing, various articles using bamboo are pouring out. However, I wonder how well consumers know about this bamboo. Many people think that tomatoes are vegetables, but tomatoes are actually fruits. As such, many consumers think that bamboo is a tree. Is bamboo really a tree? Let’s examine whether bamboo is a tree or not.

1.Bamboo is not a tree. It is a perennial grass.

Trees (dicotyledons) grow volumetrically by the division of the cambium between the phloem and xylem, and a tree ring is formed. However, in grass (monocotyledonous), the cambium in the vascular bundle of the stem does not function as thick as a tree for only one year. Although the tree has a continuum of growing for several decades, the semi-perennial grass grows only once a year. Bamboo looks like a tree because the above-ground part has survived for more than a few years, but like grass, the stem grows from the ground for the first time every year and lives for the rest of its life.

Bamboo, a perennial grass, is a crop of the Grape family, such as grass, reed, barley, rice, wheat, sugar cane, and maize, according to genetic classification. Their leaves and stems all resemble each other, and in fact, their explosive speeds are similar. Bamboo does not provide us with seeds like rice or corn. It is difficult to even see the seeds blooming, let alone seeds. Originally, like other grasses, flowers bloom once a year and then disappear, but one day the gene broke down and the cycle of rapid reproduction was forgotten. Yes, it does not reproduce only once in 100 years. The stems extend widely in the ground, and if there is an empty spot in the ground, bamboo shoots will sprout, forming a huge group. Then, when their lifespan comes to an end, they bloom at the same time in the same year and disappear leaving behind seeds. It blooms once in a large amount and sows a large amount of seeds at the same time, so even if there are predators, the bamboo continues to reproduce.

2.Why is the bamboo hollow?

The growth rate in one hour of bamboo is equivalent to 30 years of growth of a pine tree. A pine tree has a growth point only at the tip of the stem, but a bamboo grows very quickly because each node has a growth point. Plants with nodes, such as bamboo, secrete gibberellin and auxin together to promote growth. At a rapid growth rate, the tissue forming the wall of the stem stretches very quickly, but the tissue forming the inner tissue divides slowly so that the inside of the bamboo is hollow.

You shouldn’t call bamboo a tree from now on. As such, bamboo is a grass, not a tree. I think real trees would be very upset if they called something that is not a tree a tree.

**Countertop Bamboo Banana Hanger