7 things you didn't know about bamboo
The bamboo is also becoming more and more popular in this country. The reason for this is its extraordinary properties.
The material is robust, durable and very stable. Nevertheless, bamboo can be bent well and is an ideal material for outdoor use. Bamboo can also be integrated well indoors and is a real eye-catcher.
The plant is considered environmentally friendly because it grows extremely quickly and is completely biodegradable.
The more I researched this ingenious plant, the more I fell in love with it and its uses!
Bamboo is not a tree!
The bamboo belongs to one of the subfamilies of the sweet grasses. Thus, bamboo is assigned to the grass family. They also have a lot of similarities with the grasses, because the slender stalks are very stable and can therefore grow tall. The well-known giant bamboo can therefore reach a height of up to 40 meters. Pretty good for a weed or not!t!?
As with hardwood, the lignification process ensures the stalks are strong. The stalks of bamboo are not only extremely stable, they can also be easily bent and are therefore considered to be very elastic.
Rain and flood do not matter
Bamboo often grows near water, which is why it is water-repellent and quite insensitive to natural weather. Bamboo can therefore not only serve as a pretty privacy screen, but is also very robust and durable.
Nevertheless, a bamboo mat, for example, does not last forever, because the sun's rays and the precipitation naturally also put a strain on the bamboo. The surface of the material will become dull and grayish over time. Regular maintenance is therefore important. It is said that a bamboo mat needs to be replaced after around 6 to 8 years.
Bamboo is still considered to be one of the best materials for outdoors.
Toxic or non-toxic?
In the meantime we come across bamboo in more and more gardens and also in public places. The plant is considered an exotic plant whose sprouts can even be eaten. Nevertheless, one hears again and again that the bamboo is actually poisonous. Is this true or not?
Basically, very few types of bamboo are poisonous.
The poisonous substances of the plant are mostly in the seeds and in the raw sprouts. These contain the so-called cyanogenic glycoside called dhurrin, a poisonous cyanide. If the plant is injured, it produces this cyanide as a defense to protect itself from predators. Hydrocyanic acid has the task of blocking cell respiration and acting like carbon monoxide.n.
However, nature protects animals and people from the poisonous bamboo seeds, because they have an extremely bad taste. In addition, the bamboo blossom has a very rare cycle of only 80 to 100 years.
The types of bamboo that can be found here are in most cases absolutely non-toxic.
(Almost) anything can be made from bamboo
In the meantime, a lot of things are made from bamboo and our apartments are filled with the high-quality material. Everyday items such as clothes, baskets, furniture or mats are already being made.
As a particularly sustainable and environmentally friendly raw material, bamboo is perfect for furnishing living spaces. There is also bamboo flooring. The areas of application are large, because almost everything can already be made from bamboo.
Bamboo forms the basis of life for 1.5 billion people
Since bamboo is a very stable plant, it can be grown almost anywhere in the world. If the plant is cut, it will grow back again and again. And that up to 1 meter per day. The extensive root network of up to 200 square meters per hectare remains in the ground, which is why erosion is prevented.
The different types of bamboo can be found on almost all continents of the planet. Only in the Antarctic and in Europe is it not found as a natural occurrence.
A total of over 1,400 types of bamboo are known at different locations. Most of them thrive in Asia and Africa, but also in South America. You can even find bamboo in Australia.
Bamboo is of particular economic importance in China and India. Countless things have always been made from bamboo there. Ethiopia now also has a very large and growing bamboo production. Worldwide, the bamboo ensures that around 1.5 2 billion people (depending on source) have a livelihood.
Bamboo grows in your garden too
Bamboo grows quite well here too. Thanks to the increasing use of the plant as an ornamental plant in our home gardens and thanks to its commercial use, more and more bamboo can also be found in Europe.
However, care must be taken, as most bamboo species are vigorous and can do some work in the garden due to their rapid growth.
All the way back to earth
Bamboo is a natural material that is 100 percent biodegradable and compostable.
Of course, not all bamboo products are 100% biodegradable. Often other materials are needed to make a product. However, the bamboo industry is on the right track and most of the products are already biodegradable.
The green gold
In Asia, bamboo has been considered the green gold for centuries.“.
The plant not only thrives extremely well, but is also very stable and relatively undemanding. Various products are already made from bamboo, as the material is kind to the environment and is also renewable. Bamboo is also becoming increasingly popular with us. The plant, which belongs to the sweet grass family, has even been used as a building material for a long time.
If you want to focus on sustainability, you should increasingly use bamboo products, because unlike conventional plastic, bamboo is completely biodegradable.