Talk:Bamboo

Etymology

The etymology section lists the word for bamboo in a number of languages. However, what should appear in the etymology section is the origins of the word. [WJK, 6th February 2009.]

19:33, 25 April 2009 (UTC)hello

I agree. Even though the section is now labeled "Terms in other Languages", it is a pointless section, and a real Etymology is needed. If you want translations, you can use Google Translator. Arthro64 (talk)

Scientists?

under "bamboo in human culture" the line "Furthermore, some scientists even regard that Vietnamese culture is bamboo culture." strikes me as wrong as scientists do not comment on culture, its not their job (and the gramma is wrong) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.7.228.116 (talk) 12:55, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

textile

There are now companies making clothing out of bamboo textile. It has similar properties as wool, and for some applications makes it more usefull than cotton. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.165.16.155 (talk) 16:11, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

This is information about the subject. It says on the top to not add info about the subject. Arthro64 (talk) 19:33, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

There is an inconsistency between the "Textiles" section and "Clothing" section - The textiles section clearly states that anti-microbial properties are lost in processing while the clothing section states that they are not. Since clothing is made from textiles, the two headings should be combined. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.99.121.123 (talk) 04:08, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

Bamboo can be processed for use in the textiles industry; IE, making cloth for clothing. However, the bamboo plant is not naturally good for making fabrics - the fabrics currently made from bamboo are highly processed. In some parts of the world, it's required for bamboo clothing to be labeled as "processed bamboo," rather than as simply "bamboo." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.45.254.209 (talk) 08:58, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

Undue weight given to torture?

Not sure why torture is listed under one of the major uses of bamboo. Almost anything can be used for torture, i.e. water, sand, wood, fire, there is no end to what sadistic people can come up with, but "torture" is not listed as a major usage under those topics, so why here? Rdaidallas (talk) 01:05, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

I agree. There's only one citation in the whole section. Every other statement isn't verified. Joinred1127 (talk) 01:16, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. Seeing only support, I'm going to delete it.Ccrrccrr (talk) 01:22, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Harvesting

This section appears to be culled from bamboocraft's forum - I doubt we could consider this to be a reliable source - the section may have to be cut.--Alf ^melmac 14:21, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Diversity

From the first section, "There are more than 70 genera divided into about 1,000 species." Whereas under 'diversity' on the side panel it states: "Around 92 genera and 5,000 species" Can someone correct whichever one of these is incorrect? Aftertaken864 (talk) 17:13, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Some article links

For whoever next comes around to give this page a sorely needed rewrite, here are some recent article links mostly about the modern bamboo manufactured product industry.

http://www.greenbiz.com/feature/2009/07/09/growing-future-bamboo-products http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/sns-green-hm-buys.0619-pg,0,6023784.photogallery http://www.hamptons.com/Home-And-Garden/Hamptons-Green/7992/Going-Eco-Friendly-Discover-The-Wonders-Of.html

Cheers. EllePollack (talk) 19:59, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Growth rate

Is the "growth rate" of 121 cm/day (stated in the article) the result of growth (cell division), or the result of internode expansion (cell elongation)? --EncycloPetey (talk) 14:34, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

I am not sure if this is the right section but in the introduction "They are capable of growing up to 60 centimeters ... or more per day.." seems like a paradox. Either it grows up to 60cm a day or it can grow more than 60 cm a day. It can't do both.[Orangutanlibrarian, 8 February 2010]

Also as pointed out by EncycloPetey in the body of the article under the Growth section the bamboo is quoted as growing at 121cm per day. [Orangutanlibrarian, 8 February 2010] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Orangutanlibrarian (talk • contribs) 19:53, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Cleanup progress

Borrowing this space to sandbox the remaining trivia bits, will delete them as proper places are found for them. EllePollack (talk) 20:52, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

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Besides its use as a construction material, it is also used for fencemaking, bridges, toilets, walking sticks, canoes, tableware, decorative artwork carving, furniture, chopsticks, food steamers, toys, bicycles, hats, and martial arts weaponry, including arrow shafting, bows, bow backings, fire arrows, flame throwers and rockets. Also, abaci. Bamboo is the traditional material used for bamboo fly rods for fly fishing. When bamboo is harvested for wood, care is needed to select mature stems that are several years old, as first-year stems, although full sized, are not fully developed and are not as strong as more mature stems.

Sharpened bamboo is also traditionally used to tattoo in Japan, Hawai'i and elsewhere.

Bamboo is used for the stems of traditional Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese smoking pipes, and was also utilized for crafting the stems of opium pipes.

A variety of species of bamboo was one of about two dozen plants carried by Polynesian voyagers to provide all their needs settling new islands; in the Hawaiian Islands, among many uses, ʻohe (bamboo) carried water, made irrigation troughs for taro terraces, was used as a traditional knife for cutting the umbilical cord of a newborn and as a stamp for dyeing bark tapa cloth.

Some skateboard and snowboard deck manufacturers as well as surfboard builders are beginning to use bamboo construction. It is both lighter and stronger than traditional materials and its cultivation is environmentally friendly. At least one snow ski manufacturing company, Liberty Skis, now uses bamboo construction for these reasons. Freeskier Magazine (February 26, 2007).

Bamboo has been used in the construction of fishing rods since the mid 1800s. However, following the invention of fiberglass and graphite, bamboo use in fishing rods has declined dramatically. There is something of a resurgence of the use of bamboo, particularly for bamboo fly rods as demonstrated by some companies because of their aesthetics and impact on the environment.

Bamboo is also used to make enclosures in fish farming, where cages can be made from a wooden frame and bamboo lattices.

Bamboo has gained increasing popularity in the culinary world as a material for cutting boards, as they are hard enough to withstand years of knife abuse, yet more forgiving to the knife blade, causing less damage to the edged utensils over time.

Bamboo is used in Philippines to make chairs,wooden sofa,wooden beds.

Bamboo can also be used in IT and electronics products. In 2008, Taiwanese hardware producer Asus launched the first ever laptop with an outer casing made from bamboo. The laptop is marketed in France as being écolo.Asus lance un ordinateur écolo - chic, habillé de bambou.

There have been several breakthroughs in the use of bamboo as an alternative fuel. In this capacity it is most widely known for charcoal. In 2008 one U.S. Company [Lorachell] in a collaborative effort with Vietnam has successfully tested bamboo use as an alternative bio mass fuel. The Bamboo is chipped and fermented producing a biogas. This also reduces soil pollution.

Bamboo charcoal is made of bamboo by pyrolysis process.

The Bamboo Curtain was a colloquial name for the boundary of communist nations in eastern Asia during the Cold War.

One of Thomas Edison's first commercially successful incandescent lamps used a filament of carbonized bamboo.

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so 53 vo van ngan phuong linh chieu quan thu duc

phuc ngay 05/05/2009

day la tuan le thu 4 em o tp hcm .em thich tp hcm lam. em thuong thuc day 7gio va an diem tam o 1 quan ben duong .bua an sang cua toi la banh mi va trung , nhung cafe khong den noi toi te .em luon di hoc bang xe buyt .em hay den truong luc 12 gio 15. em hoc duoc kha nhieu tieng nhat .truong em hoc thuong tan hoc luc 5 gio .buoi toi thinh thoang gap ban . phong o cua toi co 1 cai truyen hinh mau va voi guong sen .nhung thuong toi hay di an toi voi 1 nguoi ban .thuc an khong ngon lam .cuoc song o day that la thu vi .cuoi tuan toi toi se di choi bien .

   cho gui loi tham den tat ca moi nguoi . mong som gap lai.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.253.90.155 (talk) 08:15, 5 October 2009 (UTC) 

Bamboo is not only used for archery bows, but also for bows for string musical instruments. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.43.206.93 (talk) 23:03, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

Recent Edits Explained

/* Culinary */ I have traced the old dead link to a fresh one at http://www.bamboochef.com/products_print.php. I have used a different one at "pristineplanet.com" as it highlights exemplifies the eco-friendly aspect. Note that *both* citations are commercial. Note also that the Title part of that link has verticle bars (|). So I had to truncate it.

I took me nearly an hour to finish this edit, what with Edit Conflicts on the Sandbox and incredibly slow line speeds. IYEEEEE!

76.252.69.221 (talk) 01:35, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

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With respect to User:Ohnoitsjamie

(talk | contribs) (45,842 bytes) (product listings do not meet reliable sources criteria) (undo)

I think, in this case, a product listing does serve--as the question at hand is "Do such products exist and do they claim to be eco-friendly?". Must go now. Exhausted. Must--find--bathroom.

76.252.69.221 (talk) 01:40, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

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No. Please see WP:Reliable sources. The fact that such products exists is non-controversial and as such is not begging for a source. OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 02:23, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Evolutionary history

The bamboo article mentions under the heading "growth" that "during the Cretaceous period, vast fields existed in what is now Asia."

I thought that Poaceae was a fairly modern plant family. The earliest reference I can find is in the Paleocene. Evidently bamboos were some of the earliest poaceae, but I don't think there is evidence to support this statement.

My reference is Flora of Australia By A S George, Australia, Bureau of Flora and Fauna, Anthony E Orchard, Australian Biological Resources Study, Helen J Hewson, Helen S Thompson. Page 39. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.70.74.179 (talk) 05:59, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

lack of precedent? NOT!

"lack of precedent for any living organism to harness something as unpredictable as lightning strikes to increase its chance of survival as part of natural evolutionary progress"

Although I'd believe that the cited article (which I haven't read) made this assertion, it seems a bit ridiculous to me. There are entire ecosystems--e.g., pocosins in Eastern North Carolina--which absolutely depend on REGULAR burning (initiated by lightning strikes) for their very existence. Without VERY frequent fires (I think even missing 5 years would likely completely change the landscape), the herbaceous understory would irrevocably be replaced with a completely different type of vegetation scheme. (This could be easily researched, and if anyone's interested, I'd encourage you to do so.)

Again, I don't doubt that the cited source says what's reported here, but I think the point they make is INVALID, and that fact might need to be highlighted here.

philiptdotcom (talk) 22:01, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

Bamboo is not a tree

Despite being thought of or colloquially referred to as a tree, bamboo is not. Somebody is adding in the word to this page after others have removed it, on the basis that bamboo is woody--but, this person is misinformed, as bamboo is a monocot and not woody. Having bamboo being described as having a "woody stem" or as a tree is not only contradicting the rest of this page, but several other botanical Wikipedia pages.68.99.251.24 (talk) 07:59, 2 September 2010 (UTC)BotAnon

disgust of bamboo

Bamboo is disgusting and a slow crawler. It lives for only 3 months and tastes disgusting upps im talking about slugs or escargo. Escargo costs apprx $50.00 per pound unless you catch some and cook it up yourself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.194.111.213 (talk) 22:07, 29 April 2011 (UTC)

Let's decide on a variety of English and stick to it

There has been a minor edit war concerning variations in spelling (e.g. fiber/fibre, stories/storeys). Please read the section on varieties of English in Wikipedia's manual of style and then post your thoughts here concerning this article. What are the varieties of English used in the various countries with strong ties to bamboo? Is the article already written with a predominant variety of English? Jojalozzo 21:07, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

I can’t see enough markers to tell what the predominant variety of English is. I reverted the spelling changes of the anon IP on the principle that, according to WP:ENGVAR, it is a bad idea to go around changing these spellings without a valid reason, and it seems to be the work of one or two people with dynamic IP addresses who have made this kind of edit a pet project. —Stephen (talk) 02:16, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

I support your conservative approach to maintaining the status quo. I also agree that it's hard to discern a particular English variety - we have a mix. Given that bamboo is not as widespread in North America and that British English is common in a number of countries where bamboo is common, I would not be surprised if we decided to go with that. Jojalozzo 02:41, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

If there is a good reason to do it, it’s fine with me. There is lots of bamboo in the southern U.S., and Americans have a strong history with bamboo and with some countries such as Southeast Asia where bamboo proliferates, but we should decide on one variety of English and stick with that. I don’t really care on what basis we decide and don’t have a strong preference one way or another. —Stephen (talk) 02:53, 26 July 2011 (UTC)

Nobody thinks of bamboo as being a US subject, this article should settle on UK spellings. Agree, there is no justification for US spelling in this article. Genie of the beercan (talk) 21:32, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

Since when is bamboo a UK subject? The point is that it is an international subject with no strong ties to any particular variety of English. In such cases, the variety established by the first major contributor is in effect. Please read WP:RETAIN. The very first version of this article set the style to US English (see [1]). The Manual of Style is the justification for US English is this article. WTucker (talk) 13:29, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

Even if true, that does not fix it for evermore. Current consensus is for UK english. Genie of the beercan (talk) 14:34, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

Consensus? Where is this consensus you are claiming? WTucker (talk) 00:12, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

File:Bamboo tube roll up banner stand .jpg Nominated for speedy Deletion

An image used in this article, File:Bamboo tube roll up banner stand .jpg, has been nominated for speedy deletion at Wikimedia Commons for the following reason: Copyright violations What should I do? Don't panic; deletions can take a little longer at Commons than they do on Wikipedia. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion (although please review Commons guidelines before doing so). The best way to contest this form of deletion is by posting on the image talk page. If the image is non-free then you may need to upload it to Wikipedia (Commons does not allow fair use) If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale then it cannot be uploaded or used. If the image has already been deleted you may want to try Commons Undeletion Request This notification is provided by a Bot --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 15:05, 15 August 2011 (UTC)

File:Mini moon bamboo rollup retractor banner pos display eco friendly green advertising equipment.jpg Nominated for speedy Deletion

An image used in this article, File:Mini moon bamboo rollup retractor banner pos display eco friendly green advertising equipment.jpg, has been nominated for speedy deletion at Wikimedia Commons for the following reason: Copyright violations What should I do? Don't panic; deletions can take a little longer at Commons than they do on Wikipedia. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion (although please review Commons guidelines before doing so). The best way to contest this form of deletion is by posting on the image talk page. If the image is non-free then you may need to upload it to Wikipedia (Commons does not allow fair use) If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale then it cannot be uploaded or used. If the image has already been deleted you may want to try Commons Undeletion Request This notification is provided by a Bot --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 18:43, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

bambo

Where is the mentioning of them used as punishment in asian culture. There a lot of times written in the law codes as punishment — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.230.3.250 (talk) 03:36, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

nuclear survival

The following paragraph has many problems:

The bamboo's underground rhizomes give the plant an ability to stay alive through many natural disasters. They are reputed to have survived the atomic explosions in Japan in World War II.

Some of the most obvious are:

• Some humans as well as other animals survived the nuclear bomb, as well as many plants. Why is the survival of bamboo notable?

• The text seems more sensationalistic than encyclopedic.

• There is no source.

So I'm gonna delete it.

Rwflammang (talk) 05:35, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Genus and geography

The second paragraph in the section "Genus and geography" contains some ambiguity. The paragraph is as follows:

"Recently, some attempts have been made to grow bamboo on a commercial basis in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, especially in Rwanda. Companies in the United States are growing, harvesting and distributing species such as Henon and Moso."

The first sentence speaks about efforts to grow bamboo in east-central Africa. The second sentence says, "Companies in the United States" are growing and selling certain species of bamboo. It is not clear whether this refers to companies in the United States (i.e., American companies) that are growing bamboo in the United States, or to American companies that are growing bamboo in east-central Africa. If it is the former, the sentence should be worded:

"In the United States, several companies are growing, harvesting, and distributing species such as Henon and Mosos."

If it is the latter, the sentence can be joined to the first sentence:

...in the Great Lakes region of east-central Africa, especially in Rwanda, where American companies are growing, harvesting, and distributing species such as Henon and Moso."

Perhaps someone who knows the subject can make a determination as to which situation is correct and either make the edit to clear up the ambiguity or let me know and I'll make the edit.CorinneSD (talk) 21:34, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

The cited link has a video where someone makes the statement that the bamboo they are using is grown in Mississippi. Edit made. Sminthopsis84 (talk) 12:46, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

I found citation that may prove to be relevant.

and a video on "Bamboo planting in Rwanda gains momentum" Shhrdinz (talk) 21:36, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

Ecology

In the last sentence in the first paragraph in the section on "Ecology" begins "Anji Country of China". What is "Anji Country"? How could a "country" be a town? If it is the name of a region in China, shouldn't it read, "Anji Country in China"? Or even more specifically, "Anji Country in ......ern China", with an adjective indicating in which part of China it is? – CorinneSD (talk) 22:26, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

It reads "county" now, and that turns out to have a wikipedia page. The confusion between town and county might perhaps be due to translation difficulties. Sminthopsis84 (talk) 13:58, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

Stronger than steel

The intro claims bamboo is "stronger" than steel. This is extremely vague; how is bamboo stronger than steel? Tensile strength, sheer strength? The first source calls it "tough as steel" another amazingly non-descriptive word. This is more sensationalistic than encyclopedic in my opinion. "Stronger" needs to be more accurately defined or I think it should be removed. 71.82.144.217 (talk) 07:43, 29 January 2014 (UTC)

I think the easier to support claim is that bamboo has a higher tensile-strength-to-weight ratio than steel.--Wcoole (talk) 23:13, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Desalination

I'm marking the desalination claim as dubious. The reference given is link-rotten. I see this claim in multiple places on the web, always lacking any detail or a viable reference. The only verifiable use of bamboo for water purification that I can verify is in the form of charcoal, used as a post-filter, after some other process removed the salt. I'd love to be proved wrong.--Wcoole (talk) 20:34, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

What species has compression strength and what has the tensile strength?

The article says, "Bamboo has a higher compressive strength than wood, brick or concrete and a tensile strength that rivals steel." That's what the Discover magazine source says, too. But presumably the source is talking about a particular species, and not every member of the entire tribe. And it is not clear that the same species is the one with the high tensile strength and the high compression strength properties. Does anyone have sources to provide more specificity as to this ambiguity? FloraWilde (talk) 02:10, 12 September 2014 (UTC)

Merger proposal

I propose that Bambusoideae be merged in here. See the phylogeny I added to that article. In fact, many genera and tribes have been moved to other subfamilies, so that Bambusoideae is now synonymous with (woody and herbaceous) bamboos. Tylototriton (talk) 20:09, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

Performed the merger, let me know if there's any issues left regarding systematics & taxonomy. Tylototriton (talk) 09:03, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

Poles in mythology

Now we have a new article Poles in mythology, Please see and include suitable improvements , if any, in article Poles in mythology.

Rgds

Mahitgar (talk) 08:06, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

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DEAD EXTERN LINK ... link down

• Resources on Bamboo
• Bamboo Art(Video)

... --Alain Van den Hende (talk) 18:27, 13 October 2015 (UTC)

Other parts of Bamboo eaten by man BESIDES the corm/shoot...

1] Apparently, some types of Bamboo have a pith - As I have seen it in markets for sale. I was not able to try eating it, however, when I finally got around to preparing, it had already gotten moldy. FYI: What Ihave seen, looks like a mass of fine net or somewhat like wispy Usnea/Lichen. 2] Also, some varieties of Bamboo produce a Berry, which I have come across references several times. And at least one variety I have seen published in a reputable agricultural journal has a fruit the size of a plum. I have seen the photo just the once. 3] And just thinking as I type this & never occurred to me before either, as many Poaceae species (Grass family types) are cultivated for their grains/seeds - Why would it not be possible to eat Bamboo seeds?? Obviously it would be a bit of a rarity, but there is no real reason why not.. 80.5.219.60 (talk) 19:10, 13 February 2016 (UTC)