How does bamboo breed?

Beaten by a bamboo whip that grows underground.

Like bamboo shoots after the spring rain-they appear in large numbers.

Speaking of rapid growth, bamboo shoots are well deserved. Bamboo shoots are the tender buds of bamboo. In the spring in the south of the Yangtze River, there is often a thin spring rain, and Shan Ye is immersed in obscurity. At this time, the small bamboo shoots were quietly unearthed.

The tip of bamboo shoots broke through the ground and then grew upward at an alarming rate. In April and May, after a night of spring rain, bamboo shoots generally grow 0. 1 ~ 0.3 meters high. The fastest growing bamboo shoots can grow to 1 meter a day. After 40 ~ 50 days, it will grow into a young bamboo with a height of12m!

The mystery of rapid growth

Why do bamboo shoots grow so fast? Scientists have found that this is because the division ability of bamboo growth cone cells far exceeds that of other angiosperms. Below the bamboo growth cone is a apical meristem with a length of 0.8 ~ 1.5 cm. This part of the tissue will maintain vigorous growth ability for life.

In addition, when bamboo shoots have nodes, the internode cells can still divide continuously, and each node of bamboo can be extended rapidly under suitable temperature and humidity conditions. According to statistics, in a suitable environment, the number of cells added to bamboo nodes can reach 90 thousand per second.

The most surprising thing is that when plants grow, they mainly increase the number of somatic cells in the form of mitosis. On the other hand, bamboo can undergo mitosis and amitosis. As a result, the number of cells increases rapidly.

In plant taxonomy, bamboo belongs to Gramineae. There are more than 500 kinds of bamboo in the world, mainly distributed in tropical Asia. China is the country with the largest variety of bamboo, so it enjoys the title of "the hometown of bamboo". There are more than 200 kinds of bamboos in China, mainly distributed in Southwest China, South China and Taiwan Province Province.

In the bamboo family, the shape of Buddha's belly bamboo is the funniest. Its internodes are very short, thick at the bottom and thin at the top, just like Maitreya with a big belly. The bamboo joints of the harp, silk and bamboo are covered with dark green sermon patterns, much like the strings of the lyre; Wood and bamboo are solid, and the inside is as tight as a trunk after being cut open; Long Lin bamboo is also called human face bamboo. The stems near the roots are covered with dense bamboo joints, which overlap each other and protrude at the internodes, just like pieces of Long Lin.

In addition, there are Indocalamus latiflorus, Tortoise-shell-shaped bamboo with short stems, Chicken-claw bamboo with branches like chicken feet, Arnebia euchroma with slender purple stems, Bambusa quadrata, gold-inlaid jasper bamboo with emerald green vertical stripes on its stems, and gold-inlaid jasper bamboo with gold stripes on its green stems, which can be used to make bamboo musical instruments and bamboo musical instruments with huqin handles, and the fruits are like wheat and bamboo.

A contempt hangs 1000 pounds.

There is a saying among the people in China, which is called "a contemptuous person lifts a thousand pounds". This means that a bamboo can lift an object of 1000 kg by slicing it.

Why is the texture of bamboo so tough? This is because bamboo fiber cells are particularly developed. They are long and elastic, and the tensile strength and compressive strength along grain are 1 ~ 3 times higher than that of ordinary wood. Compared with ordinary steel with the same diameter, the tensile strength and compressive strength of bamboo are higher than that of steel 1/2. What an amazing number!

Because of this, bamboo has been widely used in architecture, paper industry, furniture industry and daily life since ancient times.

In Yunnan and Guangxi, where ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities, bamboo buildings with ethnic styles can be seen everywhere. Almost all the daily necessities in southwest provinces, south China provinces and Taiwan Province provinces are made of bamboo: pavilions, bridges and flowing water, tables, chairs and benches are all made of bamboo, and baskets are all made of bamboo. In addition, bamboo hats, bamboo mats and bamboo baskets are more common.

Bamboo and bamboos

China is the country that produces the most bamboo. According to incomplete statistics, at present, the bamboo forest area in China is 20,000 square kilometers, and there are more than 6.2 billion bamboos of all kinds, with an average of 5 bamboos per China.

Among bamboo plants, bamboo is listed as a national third-class protected plant because of its rarity. The shape of bamboo is not outstanding. Its height is only 2 ~ 5 meters, it is shrub-like, its internodes are 20 cm long, and its head is obviously swollen and protruding.

In ancient times, bamboo was called Zhu Qiong. Because of its swollen joints and strange appearance, it was made into crutches, pipes and other bamboo products. Later, bamboo products were also transported to the west by the road from Sichuan to India, and then to all parts of the world.

I don't know when this kind of bamboo called Zhu Qiong disappeared in its place of origin, leaving only one kind of bamboo called arhat bamboo. Coincidentally, the joints of arhat bamboo are swollen and eccentric, which is very similar to the shape of "Zhu Qiong" recorded in ancient books. Can this arhat bamboo be "Zhu Qiong"?

1942, a botanist named Chen Bangjie went to Emei County, Sichuan Province to collect specimens. On the way, he saw a plant called "Arhat Bamboo" by local people. Unfortunately, however, Chen Bangjie only found a part of Luohansong, but failed to find underground stems and flowers.

Time has passed for 30 years, and in the 1970s. After many twists and turns, two teachers from Southwest Forestry College and Sichuan Forestry College found the complete plant of Luohansong. After a long-term study, they finally confirmed that what people call arhat bamboo is actually the "Zhu Qiong" in ancient books. As a result, Podocarpus was named "Zhu Chi" and included in the national list of protected plants.

Now people know that bamboo only grows in a few areas in Sichuan and Yunnan, and it is very narrow. Bamboo shoots are delicious and processed into dried bamboo shoots are very popular. The living environment of bamboo is very suitable for the growth of Cordyceps sinensis, so Cordyceps sinensis can often be found in bamboo forests. There is a saying circulating in the producing area of bamboo, that is, "there are many cordyceps in the bamboo forest." Because of this, some people dig bamboo forests everywhere in order to dig Cordyceps sinensis, which seriously damages bamboo resources and affects the survival of bamboo. This phenomenon has attracted great attention from relevant parties.

After talking about bamboo, let's talk about bamboos.

60 kilometers south of ningyuan county, Hunan Province, China, there is a 57-square-kilometer Jiuyishan Nature Reserve. The bamboo produced in Jiuyi Mountain is very famous. In addition to Phyllostachys pubescens, Tetragonal Bamboo and Arhat Bamboo, there are also precious Bambusa bambusa.

Bamboo, also known as torreya grandis and teardrop bamboo, grows at an altitude of1500m in Jiuyi Mountain area, with a diameter of 3cm. Bambusa bambusa is covered with spots. How did this spot come from?

There is a touching story circulating in the local area, which tells the story of Cangwu Mountain (Jiuyi Mountain is also called Cangwu Mountain) in ancient Shun Di. His two concubines, E Huang and Nv Ying, saw that Shun Di had not returned for a long time, so they searched around the Xiangjiang River and went through hardships to Jiuyi Mountain. At this time, they heard the bad news about Shun Di. The concubines were in great pain, and tears flowed down like pearls, forming spots on the bamboo.

In fact, legends can only be legends. According to the botanist's investigation, the reason why there are spots on bamboo is because bamboo generally grows under bitter bamboo bushes, where the humidity is as high as 95% and the temperature exceeds 28℃, so it is often parasitic by moss. After a long time, remove the moss and you will see spots.

At present, there are more than 10000 bamboo plants in Jiuyishan area, all of which are national treasures.

Bamboo flowering

A few years ago, children were often heard singing in the streets and alleys: "Bamboo is blooming, Mimi is lying in her mother's arms counting stars, how beautiful the stars are, where is tomorrow's breakfast?" Mimi in the song is a panda, whose staple food is arrow bamboo. A few years ago, Fargesia sichuanensis bloomed and died in a large area in Sichuan, and a large number of pandas starved because of lack of food, which attracted national attention.

Why do bamboo die in large numbers after flowering? It turns out that this is related to the physiological characteristics of bamboo. Usually, bamboo is mainly propagated by nutrition. The vegetative reproductive organs of bamboo are underground stems. The underground stem of bamboo is called bamboo whip, which spreads underground and grows rapidly.

Bamboo rarely blooms and bears seeds, and flowering is the performance of bamboo cluster decline. When the growth environment of bamboo is unfavorable and the underground stems can't get enough nutrition, they will bloom and the plants will grow after flowering.