Bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo has a multitude of uses. Bambusa is the fastest growing plant used in the landscape to create a natural, tall privacy screen. Some people are captivated by bamboo's decorative appeal; the dazzling array appeal: and graceful, evergreen foliage. Others recognize bamboo as the premiere renewable resource of the 21st century, as it is able to double or even triple its mass in one growing season, requiring little more than water, soil, and sunlight. The culms are strong, some have greater density than oak, yet are light weight and flexible. The new shoots that emerge every spring are edible and can be managed as a food crop, yielding many pounds of fresh produce each spring, some throughout the growing season  The pulp can be made into paper, culms into timber. Rayon is a product derived from the bamboo-fiber. Innovative architects, inspired by the methods of building in the past, are designing complex, earthquake resistant houses, using bamboo as the primary structure. In other areas culms are being used as aqueducts like PVC tubing. Our culture is just beginning to tap into these outstanding resources. Bamboo is up to four times as efficient as trees in releasing and converting the O2 in carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. It, the bamboo, can be used and should be planted much more extensively to help curb the effects of global warming. Decoration and privacy screens in the temperate landscape are the main qualities desired.