National Zoo's Bamboo Needs
Thank you to everyone who inquired about the Zoo’s need for bamboo. We received an overwhelming response and are currently reviewing all inquiries. As a result, we are not accepting additional inquiries. We appreciate everyone’s concern and assistance.
Bamboo Facts
- There are more than 1,000 species of this tree-like member of the grass family. Southeast Asia has nearly half the world’s species, with China having more than any other country.
- Bamboo stalks can grow two feet in a single day. Temperate bamboo can grow to its full height of 60 feet in a couple of months. By contrast, it can take 60 years to replace a 60-foot tree.
- Bamboo is composed of a stalk, also called a culm, and a network of underground stems and roots. The strong culm is stabilized by a series of reinforced notches, known as nodes.
- Underground, the bamboo stems, or rhizomes, are so strong that people have taken refuge from earthquakes in old bamboo groves because they know the rhizomes will hold the earth together.
