Encyclopedia or Database to Identify Bamboo Species

Is there a bamboo encyclopedia or database that has significant amount of information? Trying to identify some bamboo that I have, because I'm not exactly trusting the information where I got the bamboo from. Would like to compare data.

What Determines the Length of Bamboo Internodes?

What determines the length of bamboo internodes? Is it the species only, or are there other factors involved?

How Many Internodes Has an Average Bamboo Culm?

How many internodes has an average bamboo culm?

Guadua Rhizome Morphology

I read about two different rhizome positions of Guadua angustifolia (nearly vertically positioned rhizome with collective feet and horizontally positioned rhizome).

Here in Ethiopia, North East Africa, there is mountain bamboo that has a similar rhizome position (nearly vertically positioned) with collective rhizome feet. I want to compare Guadua angustifolia and Ethiopian mountain bamboo in their rhizome morphology, but I become confused with the two different rhizome positions of Guadua angustifolia mentioned.

I need clarification about rhizome forms of the species. I would appreciate it if you can show me pictures as well.

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

I'm not exactly sure what you mean with vertical vs horizontal positioned rhizomes but I assume you are referring to Guadua's underground growth habit. So, I think the question should be: Is Guadua angustifolia a running or a clumping type of bamboo?

There is quite some confusion about the rhizome structure of Guadua angustifolia as Guadua species are classified as clumpers, however the reality is quite different...

The long-necked rhizomes can easily extend one meter or more before turning upwards into a new culm, and outdistancing some bamboos with leptomorph (running) rhizome systems. Rather than "clumping" bamboo, Guadua bamboos are more properly characterized as having a pachymorph rhizome system with a diffuse habit (or "open clumpers") – though even this often understates the matter.

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Guadua Bamboo Rhizome Morphology

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Bill

The real question I'd like to see an answer to is... can they be contained once planted, or is it inevitable they will take over the property over time?

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Stéphane Schröder

They won't take over your property like running bamboos since Guadua still grows in clumps. However these clumps will continue to expand and can become 10 meters in diameter in about 10 years (under optimal conditions). So I won't advise planting them in a backyard of a few square meters.

Simple rhizome barriers won't hold up against these massive Guadua's but you could somewhat keep them under control by eliminating the young shoots (just chop them down).

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What is the Best Bamboo Species for Making Floors?

I am considering bamboo as a flooring material. Are some species better than others for bamboo flooring? Love your site. So informative. So readable. Keep up the good work!

Comments

Wayne

What's the best species of bamboo for flooring? It's probably a lot like coffee in that many differing opinions are out there as to where the best coffee grows, but bottom line, all coffee beans can be roasted wrong. They can all be brewed wrong.
My guess is, it's more critical how bamboo is handled and/or processed than where it comes from, i.e. fair trade practices, manufacturing environmental compliance, efficient and stable distribution. Am I right? Anybody else has a thought?

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Maureen Heffner

Bamboo hardwood flooring is quickly becoming the most popular exotic hardwood flooring option on the market. Many bamboo species like Guadua and Bambusa are popular. Appearance wise, bamboo's light color and soft sheen is considered very trendy. It is important that when creating a structure made from bamboo, as well as a hardwood floor, that the wood is treated with certain solutions, so it does not crack from moisture.

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Stéphane Schröder

Choosing the right species for bamboo floor making is very important because the strength of bamboo fibers varies greatly from species to species. Generally speaking, the best timber species are found in the genus: Guadua, Dendrocalamus, Bambusa, and Phyllostachys.

Moso (Phyllostachys edulis) from Asia is most often used for flooring purposes. The preferred species in the Americas is Guadua angustifolia. A comparison of both species can be found here.

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Is Beema Bamboo a Solid Bamboo?

I'm wondering about how true the claims of total solidity of some species or varieties of bamboo actually are. e.g. Bambusa balcooa var 'Beema'. Is it a case of mostly solid starting from the base up or total solidity? Or is it just an occasional occurrence even in monoclonal cultivars?

I know this site refers to Guadua angustifolia but it is also one of the best bamboo resources I've found online in terms of plain presentation of facts rather than the standard sales pitch so I figured where better to ask.

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

100% solid tropical bamboo don't exist as far as I know, except for some small diameter bamboo in the genus Chusquea.

Guadua amplexifolia

In the genus Guadua there also exist a near solid species called Guadua amplexifolia (see photo), which starts nearly solid at the base, however a small cavity the size of a pencil is still present. Towards the middle and top of the culm the bamboo becomes hollow again, although the wall thickness remains fairly thick.

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Jake

Cheers for the feedback, most helpful, and as I thought. I like the idea of finding a near solid 'open clumper' as opposed to true clumpers as a soil ameliorative and commercial product for use on degraded land to provide the most land cover and prevent erosion. Will keep reading...

Again, congrats on hands down being one of the leading web resources on bamboo.

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JK

Beema bamboo (Bambusa Balcooa) doesn't claim to be producing 100% solid culms. However, manufacturers claim that they have achieved superior variety bamboo clumps (disease free, healthy and thick walled bamboo) after 8 generations (years?) of careful natural selection. They are then using tissue culture to clone millions of plants from mother plants, which is believed to be a promising approach to ensure all mother plant qualities are propagated to it's saplings. Beema bamboo saplings are claimed to be from a well nurtured, healthy mother plants with thick walls.

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Is Gigantochloa atter Stronger than Gigantochloa apus?

Is there a difference in the level of sturdiness or hardness between Gigantochloa atter and Gigantochloa apus?

I am currently doing a project and need to decide on the specific bamboo species to be used. The project is investigating on which type of bamboo is a strong and sturdy bamboo that can withstand impacts during vehicle crashes.

I searched on the web and found that Gigantochloa atter and Gigantochloa apus are two commonly used bamboo species for construction purposes as they are strong. Is it possible to determine which of them is stronger than the other?

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Comments

Stéphane Schröder wrote:

I did some quick research online and found the following data in regards to the physical and mechanical properties of Gigantochloa apus and Gigantochloa atter:

The strength properties of Gigantochloa atter were tested in green (Moisture content 72.3%) and in air dry (M.C 14.4%) condition.

• Average MOR varied from 87.9 to 108.1 N/mm2 from base to top in green and 117.7 to 127.7 N/mm2 in air dry.

• Compression strength parellel to grain 24.77 to 27.97 N/mm2 in green, 32.87 to 30.98 N/mm2 in air dry.

• Average tensile strength was 299.8 to 273.0 N/mm2 from base to top in green and 33.15 to 24.70 N/mm2 in air dry.

• Average shear strength was 5.8 to 10.8 N/mm2 in green and 9.5 to 10.8 N/mm2 in air dry.

The strength properties of Gigantochloa apus were tested in green (Moisture content 54.3%) and in air dry (M.C 15.1%) condition.

• Average MOR 102.0 in green and 87.5 N/mm2 in air dry, maximum crushing stress varies from 21.73 to 26.50 in green and 27.29 to 48.64 kN/mm2 in air dry.

• Average tensile strength was 294.1 in green and 298.9 kN/mm2 in air dry.

• Average shear strength in green varied from 5.99 to 7.68 whereas in air dry it was 7.47 to 7.65 kN/mm2.

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Abhay replied:

Sorry, but with the conversions I had difficulty understanding which was stronger (in terms of its tensile strength)? I'm currently trying to build a hoop greenhouse using bamboo poles and would very much like any advice on the type of bamboo I should use. Thanks for any info you can pass along.

Additional Info: The poles need to be approximately 20 ft in length, a maximum of 2 inch in diameter at the base and a minimum of 3/4 inch diameter at the tip.

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Stéphane Schröder replied:

Gigantochloa atter and G. apus have diameters of around 3.5", I think in your case, you would be better off with Phyllostachys aurea.

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Richard Broadley replied:

Currently at R&D stage of proposed relief structures constructed using bamboo. Location of site is Leyte where I understand the local bamboo species is Gigantochloa atter (Kayali). As such was wondering, as the above information was ascertained through 'qucik research online', what the best research material can be found; particularly with regard to mechanical strength properties. I look forward to hearing from you.

Edible Bamboo Leaves for Cattle

I have been visiting bamboo fields in China and India and happened to learn during my trip that only some (maybe only one) species of bamboo have edible leaves for cattle. Usually only the bacteria in Panda's tomach are strong enough to process bamboo leaves and moreover the bamboo leave fibers can hurt cattle stomachs. Seeing many time on websites that bamboo can be a perennial grass field for cattle grazing I think it would be very useful to determine which bamboo species have edible leaves (without prior processing like cooking).

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

I think it is rather the contrary (although this is not my field of expertise). Maybe some bamboo species pose a digestive problem to particular animals, but here in Colombia cows and buffaloes love to eat the leaves of Guadua angustifolia (as you can see in the picture below). As a matter of fact, we need to fence of all our bamboo plantations as cattle could cause severe damage to young bamboo plants.

Buffaloes eating Guadua bamboo leaves

I also found an article about using bamboo leaves for chicken fodder, where they talk about feeding the chickens with leaves of different Bambusa species.

The USDA has also published a study about the nutritive quality of bamboo browse for livestock. Here they list several temperate bamboo species that are available in the USA.

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Ecotrancoso

Thank you Stephane for you responsiveness and useful links. Considering that pastures are a really poor agricultural model in the tropics, bamboos could be a very interesting way to fuel increasing demands on dairy in South-America.

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Guy Solomon

I felled a clump of Bambusa balcooa and then milled the leaves for cattle. It smelled like good fresh hay and the cattle loved the chop. I am going to use cattle to clean my Dendrocalamus asper plot too. It will be interesting to see if they eat the leaf fall. I like the photo of you with the cattle and the background. Is that how you dry the bamboo poles?

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