Bamboo
General Information
Bamboo leaves, shoots, and stems make up about 98% of the giant panda's diet.
Where do they grow?
Bamboo grows in mild to warm and humid areas. Most are in Asia and on islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. A few types grow naturally in the southern United States, South America and Africa too.
Bamboo isn't actually a tree. Bamboo are giant grasses that grow in clumps. They can reach up to 40 meters (130 feet) tall. Most will grow 3-5 cm a day.
The stem of bamboo is usually hollow and divided into nodes or joints. They can be as wide as 30 cm! Each node has one side bud, but not all nodes become branches.
Many different animals enjoy the soft bamboo shoots, stems, and leaves as a food source. These include animals such as the Chinese Giant Panda, the red panda of Nepal, some Lemurs in Madagascar and Mountain gorillas in Africa.
Bamboo is a very strong. Over the years, people have used it for many different purposes. It's strength and durability make it a good choice to build with. People also have used it to make paper and fabric too!
Adaptation
Bamboo has adapted to it's habitat by being able to grow fast and tall to get more sunlight and rain. The roots of bamboo have adapted to the type of habitat they are found in. In very rainy places, their roots are like little tubes that suck up lots of water. In cooler places, their roots have spread far underground and creating more and more groups of bamboo above ground.
Did you know?
Fact
Bamboo will only flower once in it's life and then die.
Fact
Bamboo grows on every continent except for Europe and Antarctica.
Fact
Some bamboo is even stronger than steel!
Fact
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the planet!