bamboo

bamboo
/bam booh"/, n., pl. bamboos.
1. any of the woody or treelike tropical and semitropical grasses of the genera Bambusa, Phyllostachys, Dendrocalamus, and allied genera, having woody, usually hollow stems with stalked blades and flowering only after years of growth.
2. the stem of such a plant, used as a building material and for making furniture, poles, etc.
[1590-1600; sp. var. of earlier bambu < Malay, appar. < Dravidian; cf. Kannada bambu, bombu a large, hollow bam-boo (or directly < Dravidian); r. bambus < D bamboes; cf. NL bambusa]

* * *

Any of the tall, treelike grasses, found in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, that make up the subfamily Bambusoideae, family Poaceae (or Gramineae).

Bamboos are giant, fast-growing grasses with woody stems. A few species of the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern U.S., where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas. The woody, hollow aerial stems grow in branching clusters from a thick rhizome, often forming a dense undergrowth that excludes other plants. All parts of the bamboo are used, for purposes including food, livestock fodder, fine-quality paper, construction materials, and medicines. Bamboos also have ornamental use in landscape gardens.

* * *

plant
 any of the tall, treelike grasses comprising the subfamily Bambusoideae of the family Poaceae. More than 75 genera and 1,000 species of bamboos have been proposed in botanical literature, but many names are synonymous and thus not considered legitimate.

      Bamboos are giant, fast-growing grasses that have woody stems. They are distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, with the heaviest concentration and largest number of species in East and Southeast Asia and on islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. A few species of bamboo belonging to the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern United States, where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas.

      The woody, hollow aerial stems (culms) of bamboo grow in branching clusters from a thick underground stem (rhizome). The culms often form a dense undergrowth that excludes other plants. Bamboo culms can attain heights ranging from 10 to 15 cm (about 4 to 6 inches) in the smallest species to more than 40 m (about 130 feet) in the largest. Mature bamboos sprout horizontal branches that bear sword-shaped leaves on stalked blades; the leaves on young culms arise directly from the stem. Though the culms of some species grow quickly (as much as 1 foot [0.3 m] per day), most bamboos flower and produce seeds only after 12–120 years' growth, and then only once in their lifetime.

 Bamboos are used for a great variety of purposes, especially in East and Southeast Asia. The seeds are eaten as grain, and the cooked young shoots of some bamboos are eaten as vegetables, especially in Chinese cuisines. The raw leaves are a useful fodder for livestock. The pulped fibres of several bamboo species, especially Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa arundinacea, are used to make fine-quality paper. The jointed stems of bamboo have perhaps the most numerous uses; the largest stems supply planks for houses and rafts, while both large and small stems are lashed together to form the scaffoldings used on building-construction sites. The stems are also split up to make buckets and pipes or are used to make furniture, walking sticks, fishing poles, garden stakes, and other utensils. Some species of bamboo are used as ornamentals in landscape gardens. The fine-grained silica produced in the joints of bamboo stems has been used as a medicine in the Orient for centuries under the name tabasheer. East Asian artists, poets, and epicures have long celebrated the beauty and utility of bamboo in paintings and verse.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bamboo — Logo des Éditions Bamboo Création 1997 Fondateur(s) Olivier Sulpice …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bamboo — ist der Name mehrerer Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika: Bamboo (Florida) Bamboo (North Carolina) auf Jamaika: Bamboo (Jamaika) Sonstiges: Bamboo Engineering, britisches Auto Rennteam Bamboo (Software), ein kommerzieller Server für… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bamboo B&B — (Рим,Италия) Категория отеля: Адрес: Via Basilio Bricci 23, Джаниколенсе, 00152 Рим, Италия …   Каталог отелей

  • Bamboo —   [englisch, bam buː; wörtlich »Bambus«], Kurzform für aus Bambus gefertigte Rhythmusinstrumente, z. B. Bamboo Reco Reco (Reco Reco), Bamboo Rattle (Rassel).   …   Universal-Lexikon

  • bamboo — [bam bo͞o′] n. [Malay bambu < ? a Dravidian language] any of a number of semitropical or tropical grasses (subfamily Bambusoideae) often resembling trees, with perennial, jointed stems that are woody, hard, springy, and often hollow and… …   English World dictionary

  • Bamboo — Bam*boo , v. t. To flog with the bamboo. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bamboo —    Bamboo is a fibrous plant, and materials obtained from it. Bamboo grows into poles comprised of segments with hollow cores, gradually tapering to their upper tips. Leaves grow from the ridges at the ends of its segments. These ridges are… …   Glossary of Art Terms

  • Bamboo — Bam*boo (b[a^]m*b[=oo] ), n. [Malay bambu, mambu.] (Bot.) A plant of the family of grasses, and genus {Bambusa}, growing in tropical countries. [1913 Webster] Note: The most useful species is {Bambusa arundinacea}, which has a woody, hollow,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bamboo — (Bambu, spr. Bämbuh), 1) eine Art Steingut von strohgelber Farbe, s. Wedgwood; 2) Maß für Flüssigkeiten auf Sumatra, ungefähr 31 Berliner Quart, für Getreide etwa 31/2 Pfund, in Birma Längenmaß, ungefähr 1813 Pariser Linien …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Bamboo — (engl., spr. bämbū, »Bambus«), strohgelbe, unglasierte Tonwaren, werden in Indien von den Eingebornen gefertigt …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Bamboo — Bamboo, 1. ein rohr oder strohfarbiges unglasiertes Steinzeug der Fabrik[542] von Wedgewood Sons in Etruria und Stoke upon Trent in England (s. Tonwaren); 2. auf Sumatra Flüssigkeitsmaß = 4 l und Getreidegewicht = 1,85 kg; 3. in Birma Längenmaß …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”