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Flowers... but when?Botanists still don't fully understand flower production in bamboos-some flower only infrequently, others only rarely and some have never flowered in human memory. Depending on the species, in fact, the flowers appear at intervals of several years, if not decades or even centuries! When a particular species does flower, it may be universal, i.e. all the plants in that species, from the same generation, from the same parent rhizomes, no matter where they are around the globe, may flower at the same time. The plants flower profusely, and often become weakened, so much so that they sometimes die. Such random flowering has made it hard to classify the bamboos. Over time and with different observations, the names of some genera and species have been changed. This is why it is not uncommon to find the same bamboo listed under different names today. Spectacular growthBamboos hold the world's speed record for growth. Under ideal conditions, the culms of some species can grow one metre in the space of 24 hours! In the Bambouseraie Prafrance, culms of Phyllostachys edulis (or P. pubescens) have grown to a height of 20 m in just 8 weeks. Oddly enough, the culms do all of their growing in the first year. New shoots take over in subsequent years. Like a telescopic antennaUnlike trees, bamboo culms do not grow bigger around or taller from year to year. When the culms emerge from the ground, they have already reached almost their full diameter. They also grow to their full height in their first year. In fact, the young shoot starts out with all its nodes, which then extend out telescopically. The internodes grow to their final length over a period of one to four months. Once the culms have stopped growing, the rhizomes take over again.
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