Bamboo is one of the most phenomenal examples of plant life. It shoots upward at a rate of 41 centimeters a day and can grow to 36 meters. It spreads so rapidly that if there is a road running through a growth of bamboo, that road may disappear completely in a month if it is not kept open!

There are about five hundred kinds of bamboos. They all have smooth, hollow, jointed stems with a strong, watertight partition at each joint, and all grow very rapidly. While most bamboos flower every year, there are some that bloom only three or four times in a century. The flowers are like those of grains and grasses. The fruit is usually like grain, and in some kinds, like nuts.