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Bamboo Canes
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here to see our selection of Bamboo Canes.
 Bamboo
as a valuable resource is mostly neglected in North America while
in Asia, Southeast Asia in particular, it provides the many essential
elements for a village household. A farmer may live in a bamboo
structure and eat food prepared in bamboo containers. Their beds
and the mats they sleep on are most likely bamboo. Their animals
may be contained by bamboo fences and cages. The fish are harvested
by using bamboo traps. The processing, storage and transportation
of grain make use of bamboo baskets of various size and shapes.
Bamboo shoot serves as a vegetable that may be enjoyed fresh, dried,
pickled or fermented. It is very probable that the bamboo plant
enjoys more uses than any other plant known.
The stature and wood-like properties of the canes might lead one
to believe that bamboo grows like a woody shrub or tree, however,
bamboos are members of the grass family so their vascular system
and growth process is vastly different. Woody plants increase in
height/length by cell division at the tips of branches and roots,
and in girth by cell formation in the cambium, the layer of life
between the wood and the bark. As trees grow, their branches and
roots get longer, and their trunks and stems get fatter. Bamboo
shoots, on the other hand, emerge at their full diameter and grow
to their full height in a matter of weeks to months depending on
the species and the environment; neither the girth nor the height
of the culm will increase after the shooting process is complete.
As the new shoots elongate, the protective leaf sheaths drop as
branches then leaves emerge. In some bamboos the leaf sheath may
persist, and in others, branching out occurs the following year.
Most bamboos have short lived foliage leaves which are cyclically
shed as new leaves unfurl so that the foliage remains “evergreen.”
Depending on the species, leaf yellowing and leaf drop may be more
noticeable at certain times of the year, which is a normal part
of the growth cycle. The culms and rhizomes are relatively short-lived
as well. In a mature grove, the culms of many bamboo species will
start to decline in vigor after 3-5 years, with a life span up to
several years longer. Rhizomes seem to lose their vigor after only
a few years. Over time, a grove will produce copious amount of weed-suppressing,
organic duff in the form of leaves, sheaths, dead branches and culms.
Rhizomes and fibrous roots also add organic matter to the soil as
they die and slowly decompose.
Bamboo is a tradition for most people in Asia. Handcrafted items
made from bamboo have been in use since antiquity.
Since bamboo is such a sturdy, durable and beautiful plant bamboo
makes a most excellent walking cane. Bamboo canes are great because
they have style and class and always look great. Check out our selection
for more on Bamboo Canes.
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