Bamboo Glossary and Terminology

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Acuminate: with a long slender sharp point and concave sides
Acute: sharp-pointed
Adventitious: occurring in an unusual or abnormal position
Air-drying: the process of removing moisture from bamboo by storing it under cover until an equal level with the atmospheric conditions is reached
Alluvial soil: fine-grained fertile soil, usually rich in minerals, deposited by water flowing over flood plains or in river beds
Amphipodial: system of rhizome axes in which both monopodial and sympodial branching occurs
Apical dominance: in some plants, the lateral bud located in the axil of each leaf does not grow to form branches, especially at first
Arborescent: tree-like branching structure, attenuate with a long slender taper
Arcuate: forming an arch, bowed
Aurea: golden
Auricle: an ear-shaped extension that occurs at the base of leaves or culm sheaths
Awl shaped: narrow and gradually tapering to a sharp point
Axis: an imaginary central line of development

B

Bambusteum: a place where bamboos are grown to obverve and measure growth characteristics
Bifid: forked, divided into two lobes
Biodegradation: decomposition of bamboo by organisms
Blade: describing a flat, thin, spear shaped leaf common to bamboo
Blemish: a culm defect on the bamboo surface caused by mould or blue stain fungi
Bloom: white, waxy-looking deposit on new bamboo culms
Bole: the main stem of a tree, sometimes used to describe large bamboo culms
Borer: an insect that develops from an egg laid in the bamboo, damaging the bamboo in larval stage
Boucherie process: curing method using gravitational flow or pressure to introduce a water-borne preservative to the butt ends of green bamboo culms
Bract: modified leaf protecting an inflorescence
Branch: the limb arising from the nodes of the bamboo culm; sub-branches refer to branches arising from branches
Branch complement: a cluster of bamboo branches that may grow at any culm node
Branch shoot: bamboo branches grow from the node much as culms grow from the rhizome, they start life as a shoot. A branch complement will consist of several branches
Bristle: stiff hair
Broadcasting: a method of sowing by scattering seeds on the surface
Brown rot: a fungal decay that consumes cellulose/hemicellulose, leaving lignin behind
Buckling: bend out of shape due to the pressure of a compression member, the geometrical instability of a structure
Bud: undeveloped shoot enclosed in protective leaves called bud scales
Bulbous: shaped like a bulb, round or swollen

C

Caducous: dropping off or shedding at an early stage of development
Caespitose: clumping bamboos growing in dense tufts, as in bamboos with sympodial rhizomes
Canopy: layer of branches and foliage at the top of a bamboo plant
Cellulose: a complex carbohydrate that is composed of glucose units in a chain like pattern, forms the main compound of the bamboo cell wall
Check: a split in the bamboo culm surface often formed due to shrinkage during drying or mechanical forces
Chlorosis: the yellowing or whitening of plant tissue caused by a decreased amount of chlorophyll, often a result of disease or nutrient deficiency such as the lack of iron
Ciliate: margin or fringe of fine hairs
Cilium (pl. cilia): one of the hairs bordering the auricle, usually forming a fringe
Clone: a group of cultivated bamboos with identical genotype (genetic inheritance)
Clump: the whole bamboo plant, consisting of many culms grouped in a cluster
Clumping Bamboo (Sympodial): bamboos with short rhizomes that turns upwards and become culms. Some clumping bamboos with longer rhizomes develop in a wider spaced clump
Coarse: rough texture
Coating: a covering layer of a solution spread over the bamboo surface for protection against physical/biological damage or for decoration
Collapse: a defect often produced during the drying of immature bamboo
Complete fertilizer: plant food containing all three of the primary elements: phosphorus potassium nitrate, and nitrogen
Composite: a composite material is a heterogeneous combination of two or more materials, differing in form or composition on a macro scale, the combination results in materials that maximize specific performance properties.
Compost: an organic mixture of decaying matter, such as leaves and manure, used as a fertilizer to improve soil structure and to provide nutrients
Compressive strength: the ability of a material to withstand great force, stress, or pressure that tends to crush
Concentration: the amount or proportion of a substance in preservative solutions
Conjugate: joined together
Conspicuous: easy to notice, stands out
Convex: curving or bulging outwards
Coriaceous: leathery texture
Cortex: outer part of a bamboo culm or rhizome, between the epidermis and the ground tissue
Crack: partial split or break in a bamboo culm
Culm: is the bamboo pole or stem that extends from the rhizome, growing vertically, the aerial axis of the bamboo culm is divided into nodes and internodes emerging from buds, many culms are connected together by underground rhizomes to form 1 bamboo plant (Ramet)
Culm annulus: the bamboo node
Culm base: where the culm joins the rhizome
Culm pith: this inner layer is the bamboo wall
Culm sheath: the plant casing (or protective leaves) attached at each node which wrap around and protects the young bamboo culm during growth, as lo useful for identifying bamboo species
Cultivar: a race or variety of bamboo plants that has been created or selected intentionally and maintained through cultivation
Curing: a method for treating bamboo culms
Cutting: a part (often a root, leaf or bud) removed from a bamboo plant and placed in soil or water to propagate a new plant through rooting or grafting

D

Dainty: delicate beauty or charming; exquisite
Decay: decomposition of bamboo as a result of bacterial or fungal action; rot
Deciduous: falling off or shed at a specific stage of growth, usually refers to the culm sheath when it falls off when the bamboo culm is fully grown
Decurrent: having the leaf base extending down the stem below the insertion
Denticle: a small tooth or toothlike projection
Desiccant: a substance, such as calcium oxide or silica gel, which absorbs moisture and can be used as a drying agent
Diaphragm: a membranous part that divides or separates, it forms the partition within the culm, adding strength to the bamboo
Diffuse: refers to running bamboos, widely spread or scattered culms
Diffusion: a treatment method for bamboo, in which water/borne atoms and molecules from an area of higher concentration, move to an area of lower concentration across the bamboo cell membrane
Dipping: preservative process in which fresh bamboo is immersed in a preservative solution for a specific amount of time
Dolomite: a mineral used in fertilizers containing calcium and magnesium
Durability: the natural ability of bamboo to be resistant against fungal and insect attack

E

Edulis: edible
Endemic: bamboo exclusively native to a particular geographical area
Epidermis: the outermost layer of cells of the bamboo culm
Equilibrium moisture content: the moisture content at which bamboo is neither gaining nor losing moisture, equilibrium to the surrounding moisture content
Esterilla: a bamboo culm that has been opened flat with a hatchet; used for covering flat or curved surfaces, used in furniture, walls, ceilings, etc.
Evergreen: is a plant that has green foliage all year round, leaves persisting until a new set has appeared
Explants: a portion taken from a bamboo plant that will be used to initiate a culture from tissue material, it can be a portion of the shoot or of the leaves

F

Falcate: sickle-shaped
Farm Yard Manure (FYM): is the material resulting from the decomposition of mixture of animal dung and urine soaked leaves litter by micro organisms. This is prepared in pit or trench on 1mtr. depth and dumped with cow dung, urine and leaves litter everyday until the height reaches 30 cm above ground. After this, the bed is plastered with mud and left to itself for about 4-6 months where the material inside gets decomposed and becomes ready to use.
Fascicled: a bundle or cluster of stems, flowers, or leaves
Fertilizer: organic or inorganic materials in either liquid or granular form, spread on or worked into soil to increase the quality or quantity of plant growth
Fibre: long cells with lignified walls, providing mechanical support for the bamboo culm
Fibre saturation point or FSP: a term to denote the point in the bamboo drying process at which the moisture content of the cell wall is fully saturated - all other water, having been removed from the cell cavities, further drying of the bamboo results in strengthening of the fibres, and shrinkage
Filament: a slender stalk that supports the anther
Fimbricate: fringed on one side only, by long and coarse hairs
Fixation: a process by which bamboo is preserved from decay, it terminates any ongoing biochemical reactions, and also increases the mechanical strength or stability of the treated bamboo
Flexuous: bending or winding alternately from side to side
Flexural strength: the maximum bend strength, or fracture strength of bamboo measured in terms of stress and expressed in pascal (Pa)
Fumigant: a chemical compound used as a pesticide or disinfectant in vapor form
Fungi: organisms lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter
Fungicide: a chemical substance that destroys or inhibits the growth of fungi

G

Garyopses: a small, dry, one-seeded fruit in which the ovary wall remains joined with the seed in a single grain, as in barley, wheat, corn, rice, etc.
Genotype: the genetic makeup, as distinguished from the physical appearance, of an organism or a group of organisms
Genus (pl. genera): a group of bamboos derived from a bamboo family with structural characteristics in common, containing one or more species
Girdle: the swollen and persistent band of tissue at the node of some bamboos
Glabrous: smooth, without hairs
Glaucous: covered with a grayish, bluish, or whitish waxy coating or bloom that is easily rubbed off
Glume: one of the two chaffy basal bracts of a grass spikelet
Gramineous: belonging or relating to the grass family
Gregarious flowering: simultaneously flowering off all the bamboos of a single clone and subsequently die after seed setting (only happens once in the life of a bamboo plant, approx. each 80-100 years)
Grove: an area consisting of cultivated bamboos without undergrowth
Guttation: the exudation of water from leaves as a result of root pressure

H

Habit: characteristic appearance, form, or manner of growth
Habitat: the area or environment where a organism or plant normally lives or occurs, it is made up of physical factors such as soil, moisture, range of temperature, and availability of light
Hot and cold process: a treatment process in which the bamboo is subjected to heating (to force out air due to expansion) and cooling (to create a partial vacuum to suck preservative solution) in the preservative solution
Hygroscopic: a compound that easily absorbs moisture from the atmosphere

I

Imbricate: having regularly arranged, overlapping edges, as roof tiles or fish scales
Immature: refers to bamboo culms which are less than three years old and lacks complete cell wall development
Impermeable: not allowing fluid to pass through, impossible to permeate
Indigenous: synonym for native; originating and living or occurring naturally in an area or environment
Intercropping: to grow more than one crop in the same area
Internode: the hollow sections between the bamboo nodes, these vary in length from species to species
Irrigation: artificially watering dry soil by means of ditches, pipes, or streams for the benefit of growing crops

L

Lacerate: irregular cut or tear
Laciniate: having edges irregularly and finely slashed; "a laciniate leaf"
Lacuna: empty space in the bamboo culm
Lanceolate: tapering from a rounded base toward an apex; lance-shaped
Larva: wingless, often wormlike form of many insects before metamorphosis after hatching of egg
Layering: a propagation process of rooting branches, twigs, or stems that are still attached to a parent plant, as by placing a specially treated part in moist soil
Leaching: a process to remove starch from bamboo through the percolation of water
Lemma: the outer or lower of the two bracts that enclose the flower in a grass spikelet
Leptomorphic rhizomes: describes the long, thin rhizome typical of running bamboos, they are usually thinner than the culms they produce and their internodes are long and slender
Lignin: a complex polymer and chief noncarbohydrate constituent of bamboo, that binds cellulose fibers and hardens and strengthens the cell walls
Ligule: a straplike membranous or hairy appendage between the sheaf and blade of a culm sheath or leaf
Loam: fertile soil composed of approximately equal quantities of sand, silt, and clay, often with variable amounts of decayed organic material
Lobe: a rounded projection, as on the blade of a culm sheath or foliage leaf
Lodicule: one of two or three small scales at the base of the ovary in a grass flower
Lop: to cut out or eliminate any unnecessary parts from a plant or tree

M

Maculated: spotted or blotched bamboo
Margin: the border of a leaf
Mature: bamboo culms of more then three years old, when the cell wall development and lignification has been completed
Mixpodial: bamboo rhizome structure with both running and clumping habbits.
Modulus of elasticity: the ratio of the applied stress to the change in shape of an elastic body
Monocarpic: plants that flower and set seeds only once and then die
Monopodial: describes the growth habit of the rhizomes of running (temperate) bamboos where the main rhizome continues to grow underground, with some buds producing side shoots (new rhizomes) and others producing aerial shoots (new culms)
Morphology: the branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of organisms
Mold: any of various fungi that often grow on the surface of bamboo in damp conditions producing colored spores
Mulch: a protective covering, usually of organic matter such as leaves, straw, or peat, placed around plants to prevent the evaporation of moisture, and the growth of weeds
Mycelium: the mass forming the body of a fungus

N

Native: naturally occurring (not cultivated or introduced)
Nodal line: a prominent line below the nodal region
Nodal region: region that bears roots, buds and branches, between the nodal line and supranodal ridge
Nodal ridge: raised structure at the node
Node: the diaphragm between the hollow segments of a bamboo culm or rhizome from where the culm sheath, foliage leaves, branches or flowers arise
Nutrient: a substance that provides nourishment for plant growth, plants absorb nutrients mainly from the soil in the form of minerals and other inorganic compounds

O

Oblique: slanted, with sides of unequal length or form
Offset: a rooting shoot that develops laterally at the base of a bamboo plant, used for bamboo propagation
Oral setae: the hairs on auricles of culm sheaths

P

Pachymorphic: describes the rhizomes of caespitose (clumping) bamboos, they are short and usually thicker than the culm produced by the terminal bud
Palea: the inner or upper of the two bracts enclosing one of the small flowers within a grass spikelet
Parallel Venation: numerous veins (bundles of vascular tissue) run through the blade of the leaf, serving to bring water and to collect the products of photosynthesis
Parenchyma: the primary tissue of bamboo, composed of thin-walled cells and forming the greater part of leaves, roots, and the pith of stems primarily for the storage and distribution of carbohydrates
Perennial: a plant that continues its growth for at least three years
Pericarp: the wall of a ripened ovary; often divided into distinct layers such as exocarp, mesocarp and endocarp (outer, middle and inner carps)
Permeability: the ability of flow of liquid penetration into bamboo tissue
Persistent: culm sheath in certain species of bamboos which remain attached even after the attainment of maturity
Petiole: The stalk by which a leaf is attached to a stem. Also called leafstalk.
pH: (potential of hydrogen) a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution, usually measured on a scale of 0 to 14; pH value of less then 7 indicate acidic conditions, a pH value of 7 indicates neutral conditions. and pH values greater then 7 indicate alkaline conditions
Photosynthesis: the process in bamboo leaves by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source, releasing oxygen as a byproduct
Plumose: having an ornamental plume or feathery tuft
Preservative: chemical compound that is added to protect against decay or decomposition
Pressure treatment: a process in which a preservative solution is forced into the bamboo structure under externally applied pressure
Prophylactic treatment: short term surface treatment to prevent biodegradation during storage of bamboo
Prophyll: first leaf of a branch; a kind of sheath found at the first node of a branch or scale-like appendage
Pruinose: having a white, powdery covering or bloom, usually on the bamboo culm
Pruning: trimming of bamboo branches to divert nutrients for the growth of new culms and to prevent congestion
Pseudo-petiole: the tiny stem that connects the bamboo leaf to the branch
Pubescence: a covering of soft down or short hairs covering the culm
Pygmaeus: dwarf, very small

R

Rachis: a main axis or shaft, such as the main stem of an inflorescence or the stalk of a pinnately compound leaf
Ramet: the individual bamboo plant, formed by many culms and connected by underground rhizomes
Reed: tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems
Repellant: surface coating based on a chemical substance used to repel insects or water
Retention: the power of retaining liquid / preservative
Rhizome: a horizontal, usually underground stem with nodes and internodes that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes, also called rootstalk or rootstock
Rhizome barrier: method to enclose running bamboo, and prevent them from spreading
Root primordium: root in its initial stage of development
Running bamboo: describes a bamboo whose rhizomes have a horizontal growth habit, and tend to develop along the surface of the soil

S

Sap-replacement: treatment process by which the preservative solution is pushed by pressure into the butt-end of a fresh bamboo culm
Serrate: having a saw-toothed edge or margin notched with toothlike projections
Sheath: a often temporary enclosing "leaf" which protects the young shoots, culms, and sometimes branches as well, smooth at the inside, covered with short spines at the outside
Shoot: new culm which has just broken ground, arising from a rhizome underground (often at a pace of 30cm a day), completely covered with sheaths, also a delicacy in Chinese cuisine
Sinuous: characterized by many curves or turns; winding
Slivers: strips of bamboo (from the outer layer) with a thickness of less than 1mm, which are used for weaving into mats or baskets
Smoking: a type of treatment in which the bamboo is exposed to smoke
Soft-rot: a decay by fungi with special physiological abilities; the hyphae grow mostly inside the cell wall
Species: a fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a genus or subgenus and consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding
Spike: a usually elongated, unbranched inflorescence with stalkless flowers arranged along an axis
Spikelet: a small or secondary spike, characteristic of grasses and sedges, having a varying number of reduced flowers each subtended by one or two scale-like bracts
Spinous: having spines
Stalks: the stem or main axis of a plant
Steeping: to soak in liquid in an almost vertical position to cleanse, soften, or extract sap from bamboo
Stem: in bamboo usually referred to as culm
Stigma: the uppermost sticky receptive surface of a carpel of the female reproductive organ of the plant, where deposited pollen germinates
Straggling: spread out in a scattered or irregular group
Striae: linear strip, groove, or ridge on the leaves, sheaths or culms
Sulcus: a groove or depression along the length of the internode of culms or branches, sometimes of a different color from the rest of the cane
Sympodial bamboo: sympodial or clumping bamboos are those that do not spread and form tight clumps which only slowly expand in diameter each year

T

Tabasheer: a concretion in the bamboo joints, which consists largely of pure silica; it is highly valued as a medicine for the cure of bloody flux, piles, bilious vomitings, and various other diseases
Taper: to become gradually narrower or thinner toward the end off the culm
Thorn: sharp, hardened, modified branch arising from the nodes and branches of some woody bamboo
Tomentose: covered with short, dense, matted hairs
Truncate: having a blunt end, as though cut off at the tip
Tuft: a short cluster of leaves attached at the base
Turion: a thick fleshy young shoot, emerging from the ground without branches or leaves

U

Unarmed: devoid of thorns, spines, prickles
Understorey: an underlying layer of vegetation, especially plants that grow beneath a forest's canopy
Unicaespitose: having many culms arranged in a single tuft; clumping bamboo

V

Vein: one of the vascular bundles that form the branching framework of conducting and supporting tissues in a leaf which carry water, nutrients and hormones to and from various parts of the plant, visible within the leaves of most plants
Velutinous: covered with dense, soft, silky hairs
Ventricose: inflated, swollen, or distended, especially on one side
Verticillate: arranged in or forming whorls or a whorl, arising at the same node
Vessels: tubular structure to conduct water through the culm

W

Weathering: process of degradation due to atmospheric factors such as rain and sun light
White rot: a fungal decay that decomposes all cell wall components leading to a white appearance of the decayed tissue
Windbreak: planting bamboo to protection homes or structures from the wind by breaking its force