Want to Glimpse the Future?
Think Bamboo!
by Jeanette Fisher
If you're wondering what will be the hot
commodity in the next few years, think
bamboo! Bamboo offers many advantages, not
the least of which is its amazing rate of
growth. In fact, no other plant in the world
grows faster than bamboo. Once established,
bamboo plants will send up a number of
shoots that will reach their full height in
just one year, which makes bamboo the
champion grower of all the woody plants. In
fact, the record growth in a single
twenty-four period is an astounding 47.6
inches! That's nearly four FEET in one day.
As for overall growth, although it's common
to see bamboo plants 100 feet tall, the
largest bamboo plant ever recorded grew to a
height of 180 feet. It measured more than a
foot in diameter and its walls were at least
an inch thick. Such growth easily qualifies
bamboo as the largest member of the grass
family.
Another legendary trait is bamboo's
strength. It has a tensile strength superior
to mild steel, able to withstand pressure of
52,000 pounds per square inch, which is
superior to graphite. That means that on top
of being the fastest growing woody plant and
the tallest grassy plant, bamboo is also the
strongest woody plant, as well...twice as
stable as oak or walnut when used in ladders
or scaffolding.
Bamboo is truly an amazing plant, but its
uses as a resource have yet to be fully
tapped. It can be selectively harvested
every year with no impact on the environment
and no need to replant, thereby saving
thousands of man hours and fuel costs. It's
an incredibly versatile building material,
as well, providing income, food, and housing
to 2.2 billion people around the globe...but
we've only scratched the surface of bamboo's
true potential.
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Copyright © 2007 Jeanette
J. Fisher
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Jeanette Fisher