Hi, this is Julián from MinuteEarth.
Bamboo can grow as fast as three feet per day!
In fact, when it comes to upward growth, bamboo is the fastest growing plant on Earth, able
to shoot up as tall as a 10 story building in just 8 weeks, giving pandas a new meaning to the
term “fast food.”
The key to this absurdly fast growth is that, despite its bamboozling height and sturdiness,
bamboo isn’t a tree – it's a very special grass.
Yup, that's right, bamboo, along with wheat, rice and other grasses is a member of the Poaceae
family.
Unlike trees, which grow taller through the slow process of cell division, bamboo - like
all grasses - just inflate the cells it created before the shoot came out of the ground.
Each new bamboo shoot is actually part of a larger system of roots and canes that works
like a plumbing system, pumping water into the new shoot’s cells.
The cells release a special chemical that make their cell walls more flexible (and inflatable)
and the orientation of the strands that make up these walls guide this fast growth straight up
While all grasses grow via the same cell elongation process, an unkempt lawn won’t end up towering
over your house like a bamboo grove would.
That’s because, unlike most grasses whose cell walls thin out and weaken as they stretch,
bamboo is able to deposit more layers to its cell walls, keeping the shoot sturdy enough
to withstand strong winds even as it grows to immense heights.
It’s developed this ability in order to keep pace with the trees in the forests bamboo
calls home, allowing it to get the necessary sunlight to supercharge the growth of even
taller shoots next year.
This firmly plants bamboo of the House Poaceae, as the rightful Queen of the Forests, the
Unbent, the Breaker of Records, and Mother - well, at least Nourisher - of Pandas.
And if, like bamboo, you’re all about moving fast, then you should get Audible, which sponsored
this video.
With Audible, you can listen to any of the thousands of available audiobooks while commuting,
cooking, or even gardening . If you’re into dragons - and I am definitely into dragons
- I recommend downloading the "Wings of Fire" series, in which a mysterious group of young
dragonets are tasked with trying to stop a war that’s raging among various dragon tribes,
each with their own special traits.
It’s kind of like if giant violent sentient Galapagos finches had been sorted into Hogwarts
houses and then released on Middle Earth.
To listen to "Wings of Fire" - or any of the other thousands of available titles - for
free - and to get free membership for 30 days plus two free Audible Originals - go to audible.com/minuteearth
or text “minuteearth” to 500-500.
That’s audible.com/minuteearth or text MinuteEarth to 500-500.
Thanks Audible!