While many people know bamboo as the favorite food of pandas and as a fancy kitchen top surface, it is so much more. The bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. Read on to find out more about how impressive this plant is and how important it may become.
Bamboo grows incredibly quickly. Depending on the species of bamboo it can grow up to an inch every 40 minutes or 36 inches in a single day. The bamboo grows so quickly because it is essentially stretching out rather than growing. The planet may start as a few inches tall but once water is absorbed by the roots it starts to stretch out to reach incredible heights. The tallest bamboo plant in the world is 130 feet high and it can reach 100 feet in only one month’s time. The plant is robust but still requires ideal conditions to grow quickly. The ideal conditions for bamboo are moist but unsaturated land with exposure to the sun for at least 6 hours a day.
The bamboo is more than just food for pandas. It is an incredibly tough material with an ability to withstand heavier loads than wood, brick, or concrete. This toughness makes it a great material for building as it is one of the strongest materials in the world. If you have ever been to South East Asia you will immediately notice how widespread its usage is.
Bamboo may also have another role to play. It may save the world. Bamboo is a fantastic plant for the environment. It grows quickly and produces 35% more oxygen than trees of the same size. That is as long as pandas don’t eat it all. Pandas enjoy the plant so much but don’t get a lot of nutrition from it. This means they eat up to 40kg (depending on panda size) every day.
