Editing Bamboo (section)

==Ecology==
{{More citations needed|date=June 2024|area=section}}
[[File:Bamboo Canopy.jpg|thumb|Bamboo canopy]]
The two general patterns for the growth of bamboo are "clumping", and "running", with short and long underground rhizomes, respectively. Clumping bamboo species tend to spread slowly, as the growth pattern of the rhizomes is to simply expand the root mass gradually, similar to ornamental grasses. Running bamboos need to be controlled during cultivation because of their potential for aggressive behavior. They spread mainly through their [[rhizome]]s, which can spread widely underground and send up new culms to break through the surface. Running bamboo species are highly variable in their tendency to spread; this is related to the species, [[soil]] and [[climate]] conditions. Some send out runners of several meters a year, while others stay in the same general area for long periods. If neglected, over time, they can cause problems by moving into adjacent areas.

Bamboos include some of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, with reported growth rates up to {{convert|910|mm|in|abbr=on}} in 24 hours.<ref name=Guinness/> These depend on local soil and climatic conditions, as well as species, and a more typical growth rate for many commonly cultivated bamboos in temperate climates is in the range of {{convert|30|–|100|mm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} per day during the growing period. Primarily growing in regions of warmer climates during the late [[Cretaceous period]], vast fields existed in what is now Asia.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} Some of the largest timber bamboo grow over {{convert|30|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} tall, and be as large as {{convert|250|–|300|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} in diameter. The size range for mature bamboo is species-dependent, with the smallest bamboos reaching only several inches high at maturity. A typical height range covering many of the common bamboos grown in the United States is {{convert|4.5|-|12|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, depending on species. [[Anji County]] of China, known as the "Town of Bamboo", provides the optimal climate and soil conditions to grow, harvest, and process some of the most valued bamboo poles available worldwide.

Unlike all trees, individual bamboo [[Culm (botany)|culms]] emerge from the ground at their full diameter and grow to their full height in a single [[growing season]] of three to four months. During this time, each new [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]] grows vertically into a culm with no branching out until the majority of the mature height is reached. Then, the branches extend from the nodes and leafing out occurs. In the next year, the pulpy wall of each culm slowly hardens. During the third year, the culm hardens further. The shoot is now a fully mature culm. Over the next 2–5 years (depending on species), fungus begins to form on the outside of the culm, which eventually penetrates and overcomes the culm.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} Around 5–8 years later (species- and climate-dependent), the fungal growths cause the culm to collapse and decay. This brief life means culms are ready for harvest and suitable for use in construction within about three to seven years. Individual bamboo culms do not get any taller or larger in diameter in subsequent years than they do in their first year, and they do not replace any growth lost from pruning or natural breakage. Bamboo has a wide range of hardiness depending on species and locale. Small or young specimens of an individual species produce small culms initially. As the clump and its rhizome system mature, taller and larger culms are produced each year until the plant approaches its particular species limits of height and diameter.

Many tropical bamboo species die at or near freezing temperatures, while some of the hardier temperate bamboos survive temperatures as low as {{convert|-29|°C|°F}}. Some of the hardiest bamboo species are grown in [[Hardiness zone|USDA plant hardiness zone]] 5,{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} although they typically defoliate and may even lose all above-ground growth, yet the rhizomes survive and send up shoots again the next spring. In milder climates, such as USDA zone 7 and above, most bamboo remain fully leafed out and green year-round.

=== Mass flowering ===
{{Further|Bamboo blossom}}
[[File:PICT0079 bambus-i-blomst 13apr2007 1200-81.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Flowering bamboo]]
{{multiple image |align=right |total_width=350
|image1=Phyllostachys Glauca 'Yunzhu' in flower.jpg |caption1=''[[Phyllostachys glauca]]'' 'Yunzhu' in flower
|image2=Bamboo seeds bunch 03.jpg |caption2=Bunches of bamboo seeds
}}

Bamboos seldom and unpredictably flower and the frequency of flowering varies greatly from species to species. Once flowering takes place, a plant declines and often dies entirely. In fact, many species only flower at intervals as long as 65 or 120 years. These taxa exhibit [[mass flowering]] (or gregarious flowering), with all plants in a particular 'cohort' flowering over a several-year period. Any plant derived through clonal propagation from this cohort will also flower regardless of whether it has been planted in a different location. The longest mass flowering interval known is 120 years, and it is for the species ''[[Phyllostachys bambusoides]]'' (Sieb. & Zucc.).<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Carl |last1=Veller |first2=Martin A. |last2=Nowak |author-link2=Martin Nowak |first3=Charles C. |last3=Davis |date=July 2015 |title=Extended flowering intervals of bamboos evolved by discrete multiplication |url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~ccdavis/pdfs/Veller_et_al_Ecology_Letters_2015.pdf |journal=[[Ecology Letters]] |volume=18 |issue=7 |pages=653–659 |pmid=25963600 |issn=1461-023X |url-status=dead |doi=10.1111/ele.12442 |bibcode=2015EcolL..18..653V |archive-date=2015-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911202926/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~ccdavis/pdfs/Veller_et_al_Ecology_Letters_2015.pdf}}</ref> In this species, all plants of the same stock flower at the same time, regardless of differences in geographic locations or climatic conditions, and then the bamboo dies.<ref>{{cite book |last=McClure |first=Floyd A. |date=1966 |title=The Bamboos - A Fresh Perspective |isbn=9780674061507 |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=274 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlKneBvfDyEC}}</ref> The commercially important bamboo Guadua, or Cana brava (''[[Guadua angustifolia]]'') bloomed for the first time in recorded history in 1971, suggesting a blooming interval well in excess of 130 years.{{citation needed|date=January 2023 |reason=Previous source was published in 1966 and could not have reported a 1971 event.}} The lack of environmental impact on the time of flowering indicates the presence of some sort of "alarm clock" in each cell of the plant which signals the diversion of all energy to flower production and the cessation of vegetative growth.<ref name="Soderstrom, TR 1979">{{cite journal |last1=Soderstrom |first1=Thomas R. |last2=Calderon |first2=Cleofe E. |title=A Commentary on the Bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) |journal=Biotropica |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=161–172 |year=1979 |doi=10.2307/2388036 |jstor=2388036|bibcode=1979Biotr..11..161S }}</ref> This mechanism, as well as the evolutionary cause behind it, is still largely a mystery.

=== Invasive species ===
Some bamboo species are acknowledged as having high potential for becoming [[invasive species]]. A study commissioned by [[International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation]], found that invasive species typically are varieties that spread via [[rhizome]]s rather than by clumping, as most commercially viable woody bamboos do.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-05-25|title=Bamboos and invasiveness|url=https://www.inbar.int/bamboos-and-invasiveness/|access-date=2020-07-31|website=INBAR|language=en-US}}</ref> In the United States, the National Invasive Species Information Center agency of the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]] has Golden Bamboo (''[[Phyllostachys aurea]]'') listed as an invasive species.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terrestrial Invasives: Golden Bamboo |url=https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/terrestrial/plants/golden-bamboo |website=InvasiveSpeciesInfo.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture}}</ref>

=== Animal diet ===
[[File:Giant panda eating bamboo.jpg|thumb|Bamboo is the main food of the [[giant panda]], making up about 99% of its diet.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sponheimer |first1=Matt |last2=Clauss |first2=Marcus |last3=Codron |first3=Daryl |title=Dietary Evolution: The Panda Paradox |journal=Current Biology |date=3 June 2019 |volume=29 |issue=11 |pages=R417–R419 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.045|pmid=31163146 |s2cid=173992065 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019CBio...29.R417S }}</ref>]]
Bamboo contains large amounts of protein and very low amounts of carbohydrates allowing this plant to be the source of food for many animals.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Daley |first1=Jason |title=Bamboo Is Basically 'Fake Meat' for Giant Pandas |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bamboo-fake-meat-giant-pandas-180972101/ |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref> Soft [[bamboo shoot]]s, stems and leaves are the major food source of the [[giant panda]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=What do pandas eat? And other giant panda facts |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-do-pandas-eat-and-other-giant-panda-facts |access-date=27 March 2023 |website=WWF}}</ref> of China, the [[red panda]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where do red pandas live? And other red panda facts |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/where-do-red-pandas-live-and-other-red-panda-facts |access-date=27 March 2023 |website=WWF}}</ref> of [[Nepal]], and the [[bamboo lemur]]s of [[Madagascar]].<ref name="Suresh-2023">{{Cite web |last=Suresh |first=Rahul |title=What Animals Eat Bamboo? |date=28 March 2023 |url=https://animalsresearch.com/what-animals-eat-bamboo/}}</ref> The red panda can eat up to {{convert|9|lb|kg}} a day which is also about the full body weight of the animal.<ref name="Suresh-2023" /> With raw bamboo containing trace amounts of harmful cyanide with higher concentrations in bamboo shoots, the [[golden bamboo lemur]] ingests many times the quantity of the [[wikt:taxiphyllin|taxiphyllin]]-containing bamboo that would be lethal to a human.<ref name="Suresh-2023" />

[[Mountain gorilla]]s of [[Central Africa]] also feed on bamboo, and have been documented consuming bamboo [[sap]] which was fermented and alcoholic;<ref name="gorilla">{{cite web |title=Gorillas get drunk on bamboo sap |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5037343/Gorillas-get-drunk-on-bamboo-sap.html |date=23 March 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=12 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326083159/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5037343/Gorillas-get-drunk-on-bamboo-sap.html |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> [[chimpanzee]]s and [[elephant]]s of the region also eat the stalks. The larvae of the [[bamboo borer]] (the [[moth]] ''[[Omphisa fuscidentalis]]'') of [[Laos]], [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]] and [[Yunnan, China]] feed off the pulp of live bamboo. In turn, these [[caterpillar]]s are considered a [[Entomophagy|local delicacy]]. Bamboo is also used for livestock feed with research showing some bamboo varieties have higher protein content over other varieties of bamboo.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Andriarimalala |first1=José Herilalao |last2=Kpomasse |first2=Claude Cocou |last3=Salgado |first3=Paulo |last4=Ralisoa |first4=Noroseheno |last5=Durai |first5=Jayraman |title=Nutritional potential of bamboo leaves for feeding dairy cattle |journal=Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical |date=2019 |volume=Special Supplement: Bamboo |doi=10.1590/1983-40632019v4954370|s2cid=91400323 |doi-access=free }}</ref>