Bamboo

“I am bamboo – and you will go on to ask me – who am I? Am I a plant or an animal, or what is  that I do in the world?

Well,  I am a plant and I would like to surprise you by telling you that I am the fastest growing plant in the world. In fact, despite the fact that you see me as big as a tree, but I am only classified as a grass.

Some of us bamboos can grow up to 90 cm in just twenty-four hours. Unbelievably that means 4 cm/hour. Not just that but the fact that we don’t have a dicotyledonous xylem makes us grow in a columnar form, meaning that we don’t taper. This makes us as thick and sturdy as any tree.

If you stand next to me for just 90 seconds you will see that I have grown a millimeter – which means you can actually see me grow. I would like to assure you that I don’t need too many nutrients in the soil to grow!!!

And I say to myself, that I am here on this Earth to solve so many problems that man is facing today because of the deforestation that is happening and its adverse effects on the climate.

Again you will ask me, what does a bamboo have to do with all that:

• I can grow in any soil but make sure I have at least 12 hours or sunlight and my soil is well-drained.
• I grow so fast so, I can help in feeding man as well as animals. Try me I am delicious; fresh bamboo – with other veggies or alone – buy and cook or get seedlings, seeds, and plant them.
• Some of us are quite hardy and can survive in cold climates.
• Despite the fact that I am just a grass, I am very strong and can be used to build roads and bridges.
• You can use me to make furniture instead of cutting down precious trees that took tens of years to grow.
• Furniture made of bamboo is very strong and gets stronger as it ages.
• If you are innovative, use me to build houses, schools and anything else….
• When you eat me, you will find that I taste as sweet as cucumber and much nicer that the zucchini! Find me at fresh bamboo counters!
• I am used for medicinal purposes that is no secret, just go and search – I treat issues like balancing cholesterol, boosting the immune system, I am a good anti-inflammatory, and I am full of vitamins and minerals, and so much more…
• I am an excellent material for scaffolding – in fact I am the best scaffolding in town!
• Some clever women even make accessories out of my weaker, thinner branches!!
• You won’t believe it but you can use me to cook food in.
• I am used as a bio-fuel
  

  Bamboo – Staple for Panda

• I am a pen in the olden days before the ball point! But I am also a chopstick, a writing surface ….lots of bamboo stationary around!
• I am the only food for the beautiful Panda
• I can be made into paper instead of the pulp of the pulp of those precious trees that you keep cutting down to make more paper!
• I am a weapon and a whip; if you so choose.
• A musical instrument I have been and still am!
• I have been around from the old days and I been carved into vases and my presence has always had character.

These are just some of the things that I wanted to remind you of, especially now as you need to take some sustainable measures to care for Earth and preserve your forests and plants while at the same time having those essential items that you got used to having.

Don’t make your plates and other essentials from that harmful material – plastic – it is not biodegradable and harms the environment, while I am biodegradable, and I do not harm the environment. Get bamboo products for all your home.

I have been with you a long time – you should know – but you get taken by those other things that catch your eyes but harm you. I am the Chinese symbol for strength, due to my fast growth and resilience.

I am bamboo – look and read and you will find out so much more about me!”