Guadua angustifolia
Guadua angustifolia ‘Kunth’ is a tropical species of giant timber bamboo native to South America. It is considered to be the strongest bamboo in the world, and also the 3rd largest. Guadua bamboo is by far the most important bamboo in America.
Chusquea gigantea
Chusquea gigantea, previously listed as Chusquea aff. culeou or Chusquea breviglumis, is a South American bamboo native to Chile. The species is considered to be the largest, and one of the hardiest within the Chusquea genus.
American Bamboo Species
Contrary to what many believe, bamboo doesn’t originate from Asian countries alone, it is also abundant and native in America. In fact the world’s strongest bamboo is American.
Chusquea
Bamboo species of the genus Chusquea are mountain clumping bamboos native to the tropics and subtropics of South and Central America. Unlike most other bamboos, the stems of Chusquea species are solid, not hollow.
Guadua
The genus Guadua contains the largest bamboos in tropical America. Stems can reach up to 30 m in height and to 20 cm in diameter. The name Guadua (pronounced 'gua-du-a') comes from the common name used by the people of Colombia.
Otatea
Otatea is a genus of clumping bamboos native to Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and possibly Nicaragua and Costa Rica as well. The name derives from the nahuatl otatl, meaning "bamboo".
Bamboo Species of Argentina
In Argentina, bamboo does not play a dominant role in forestry. As in the majority of South American countries, bamboo exploitation is generally confined to the local use of native species in areas close to the source of supply.
Bamboo Species of Belize
This small flat country is the only one in Central America without any Chusquea species. Belize, however, is well known for the Guadua longifolia populations along the Belize river and its tributaries on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Bamboo Species of Bolivia
In Bolivia, bamboo has been used by Andean communities in traditional production of musical instruments and baskets, and as cattle forage. An estimate of the area of bamboo forest in the highlands or lowland regions of this country does not yet exist.
Bamboo Species of Brazil
Brazil is the country with the greatest bamboo diversity and the highest percentage of endemic woody bamboos in Latin America -- 137 species (32% of Latin American bamboo species) and 17 genera (85% of Latin American bamboo genera).
Bamboo Species of the Caribbean
The native bamboo species in the Caribbean and West Indies are confined to small-sized bamboos less than 1 cm in diameter. Because of this, they do not have any economic value.
Bamboo Species of Chile
In Chile, bamboo is rarely used as an economic plant, but has some influence on the dynamics and composition of the Chilean Andes forest.
Bamboo Species of Colombia
Colombia has the second highest woody bamboo diversity in Latin America. At present, 9 genera and 70 species are reported, with 24 species being endemic and at least 12 species remaining to be described.
Bamboo Species of Costa Rica
Costa Rica is the country with the largest woody bamboo diversity in Central America. At present, 8 genera and 39 species of woody bamboos are reported.
Bamboo Species of Ecuador
Ecuador, for its size, possesses an impressive diversity of woody bamboos. Up to the present, 6 genera and 42 species have been identified (11 endemics ones), with about 15 species remaining to be described.
Bamboo Species of El Salvador
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and it has the highest deforestation and overpopulation. Some of the 11 bamboo species reported in the country might not exist anymore.
Bamboo Species of Guatemala
Guatemala is a country with many species of native woody bamboos, the majority of them belonging to the genus Chusquea and the rest to the genera Arthrostylidium, Guadua, Otatea and Rhipidocladum.
Bamboo Species of Guyana
Bamboo resources in Guyana (French Guyana, Guyana and Surinam) are unimportant to the local economy. Some ethnobotanical uses -- such as for making lances, bows, arrowheads, arrow shafts, knives and fishing harpoons -- have been reported by the indigenous people.
Bamboo Species of Honduras
From the 11 native woody bamboo species occurring in Honduras, only 4, besides several Asiatic ones, have economic potential. Otatea fimbriata, Guadua amplexifolia, Guadua aculeata and Guadua paniculata are the native bamboos that can be promoted as useful in environmental protection and in economic activities.
Bamboo Species of Mexico
Mexico is the second most diverse country in America in terms of woody bamboos. At present, 8 genera and 37 species are reported with one genus, Olmeca, and 14 species being endemic.