Hello! Today we are going to tell you about an incredible
plant with quite unique properties. It's about bamboo. Few people know, but there are many
interesting facts about bamboo, which we will tell you about in our video.
Most of us think that bamboo is a tree. In fact, bamboo is a grass, and it is a relative
of wheat and rice. However, unlike wheat and rice used for food, there are many uses for
bamboo. No plant in the world is used as widely as bamboo. This grass is used to build houses,
bridges, furniture, household utensils, water pipes, rafts, musical instruments, bones,
walking sticks, umbrellas, fans, toys and much, much more. “It is better to eat without
meat than live without bamboo,” say the Chinese.
As tropical and subtropical plants, bamboo grows naturally in Asia, Europe, North and
South America, Africa and Australia, groves are also known in Oceania. Herbaceous bamboo
is found exclusively in the tropics, while some woody species do well in colder areas.
Of all the countries in the world, bamboo grows most in China. China is a kind of "Kingdom
of Bamboo". More than four hundred species of bamboo grow in this country, one third
of all known bamboo species in the world are grown here. China has the largest cultivated
area of bamboo, and the place with the most bamboo in China is in the southern zone of
the Yangtze River. The place is very popular with tourists from all over the world.
Bamboo is an evergreen plant that grows at an average rate of 10 cm per day. Some varieties
can grow 1mm in a couple of minutes. Scientists often conduct research and a plant that has
grown by 120 cm per day has become a real record holder. Due to this speed, the culture
can reach a height of 38 meters, but the circumference of the stem is 80 cm, that is, about 25 cm
in diameter. No wonder the Japanese say that if you look
at the bamboo thickets for a long time, you can easily see how the stems grow. Sometimes
bamboo lovers gather to listen to how this herb grows. This is just not a myth, bamboo
grows so fast that you can hear the rustle of the earth, pushed apart by the sprout.
If you cut down a plant, then a new one will grow very quickly in its place. This happens
because the bamboo root system is very powerful and branched.
They grow to the sides by more than six meters. Given the density of bamboo in forests, it
is clear that the roots of plants are strongly intertwined, forming a dense and very strong
structure, resistant to landslides and even earthquakes.
There are several ways to grow bamboo. The first way is to grow a plant from seed. For
commercial use, growing woody bamboo from seed is the least attractive breeding method.
The main reason is quite simple, you will have to wait an average of 40 - 120 years
for the bamboo to bloom. At the same time, it is a good thing that bamboo grown from
seeds has a life cycle of another 40 to 120 years.
The collected bamboo seeds are cleaned, then dried in the sun for 1-2 hours. After that,
the seeds are soaked in clean ordinary water for 6-12 hours, which is drained 10-20 minutes
before sowing. Small holes are made, 3-4 mm, into which bamboo seeds are inserted one by
one. The seeds are sprinkled with soil mixture so that they are located at a depth of four
to five millimeters. Seedlings grow slowly. On average, bamboo
seeds begin to germinate in 15-25 days, the seedlings are thin and fragile. Seedlings
grow slowly because the underground part is not initially differentiated as a rhizome.
When the seedlings are 3 - 4 months old, and they began to release new shoots, they are
transplanted into pots filled with high-moor peat, watered once a day, preferably in the
evening. Bamboo seedlings are ready to be transplanted to their destination as soon
as they reach 40-50 cm. The next cultivation method is to plant a
bamboo shoot with a stem. For the bamboo to start, it is watered abundantly. You can also
grow bamboo using cuttings. This is the most efficient way. You need to pinch off the stalk
from the plant and put it in the water. The root system develops in 3-4 weeks. At this
time, it will be possible to transplant the bamboo into the ground.
Planting the rhizome of the plant is also an effective way of growing. It is the strong
rhizomes that spread very quickly underground. On each internodes of the rhizome, the rudiments
of new shoots can arise. Rhizomes are easily uprooted. Removed from the soil, they can
grow well on their own. All these seedlings will be grown in artificial
conditions for one to two years and only then will they be planted outdoors in the wild.
A bamboo tree in the wild, if cared for by humans, grows much faster.
Like any cereal, bamboo blooms, but this rarely happens - once in the interval from 60 to
130 years. Even the undersized bamboo growing in the lower layer of the forest blooms once
every 20 years. The amazing thing is that all the stems obtained from one sprout bloom
at the same time, it does not matter where and in what climate they are.
However, planters are not happy with the flowering process. During this period, the plant takes
away all the nutrients from the root system, so it often dies. This is because during this
period it consumes the last reserves of energy. As a rule, the flowering period covers large
areas in which bamboo grows. In this case, the death of plants following flowering often
leads to the complete disappearance of bamboo in a given area. In order to avoid this, the
shoots are regularly pruned. When the bamboo is large enough, it is cut
down for industrial use. To use bamboo in construction, only mature stems between four
and six years of age are cut. Such wood is extremely durable, it can withstand all mechanical
loads when using bamboo in construction. This bamboo is easily distinguished by its bright
green stems and white knot rings. When the color of the stems changes from green to grayish
green, and the color of the knot rings fades, this indicates that the bamboo is ripe and
can be removed from the plantation. The stems are cut just above the first or
second node above ground level. This is to prevent the collection of rainwater. Stagnant
rainwater in the stem can attract insects and cause rot, which can weaken the bamboo
root system. Freshly cut bamboo stalks that are 6 meters long can weigh over 70 kilograms.
In the factory, all bamboo trunks are cut to size. The surface layer of the bamboo stem
has a special, highest hardness. We are talking about the first 1.5 millimeters. This layer,
after drying, literally turns to stone. And it, practically, cannot be damaged even by
a metal object. Bamboo has a natural water-repellent outer layer, so it is treated with insect
and bacterial chemicals from the inside. Here the fibers can absorb the solution well. A
long steel rod will help penetrate each knot along the entire length of the stem.
Before the start of conservation, moss and other surface stains are washed off the stem
with a high pressure jet. Later, each assembly is individually cleaned by hand with a steel
brush. Proper preservation of bamboo is extremely
important for its longevity. For this, solutions of borax and boric acid are used, which dissolve
well in hot water. They learned to make wonderful tea from bamboo.
To do this, remove the branches and leave only the leaves. They are collected by hand
and then thoroughly rinsed with clean water. Then the leaves are cut into small pieces.
Bamboo leaves are steamed for five minutes. Dried leaves are packed in approximately the
same boxes or bags as for regular tea. Sometimes bamboo tea is produced in powder or powder
form. It is often used in the food industry. Bamboo tea has a beneficial effect on the
human body. It contains about twenty-eight beneficial properties that have a beneficial
effect on health. It does not contain caffeine, so there is no such limit on the number of
cups as for coffee or tea from the tea tree for him. But it is a natural antioxidant that
removes harmful compounds from the body, including heavy metals. Bamboo tea is especially recommended
during the period of vitamin deficiency, as well as for depression, nervous breakdowns
and exhaustion. It has a beneficial effect on the human brain. Outwardly, due to its
greenish tint, it resembles the well-known green tea. The taste of bamboo tea is slightly
sweet herbaceous, shade of golden-green.
A significant amount of bamboo is used to make disposable chopsticks. Here, the undisputed
leader in the manufacture of such products is China. In total, Chinese factories produce
80 billion pairs of disposable sticks, a significant part of which is exported. For example, from
2000 to 2006, 165 thousand tons of such products were exported. Their main buyer is neighboring
Japan. Bamboo, which is cut for these purposes, is
stored in a room adjacent to the workshop. The bamboo is pre-cut into equal parts and
manually sawn into 2 halves. Then the workpieces are cut on a special machine into small planks.
After that, the boards are transferred to another workshop, where the final product
is made of them. The machine cuts them and gives the lower
ends a rounded shape, but does not cut them to the end, leaving the sticks connected and
rectangular at the other end. This is done so that the person who will use them knows
that they are new. The next machine sharpens the lower ends of the sticks.
After the sticks are processed, they go to the quality department, where employees check
the products for defects and compliance with customer requirements. Then the sticks are
packed. After that, the boards are sorted according
to quality and packed in bags. Customers from China, where all products are sent, make sure
that the blanks meet their standards - they are not different in color, curves and defects.
Today it is difficult to list the industries where bamboo is not used. And in the first
place is the use of bamboo as a building material. Almost any building structure can be made
from bamboo: walls, roofs, stairs, rafters, window and door frames. In the manufacture
of flat surfaces, the stems are fastened together by tying, weaving or otherwise.
Modern bamboo building materials are most often planks or panels. Since the stalk of
the cereal has a tubular shape, having cut it lengthwise, it will not be possible to
get a regular bar. In this regard, when working with bamboo, methods of gluing and pressing
individual strips of a plant into plates are used, which are then shaped and varnished,
as a result of which elements such as these are formed. They can be used as finishing
materials for walls, ceilings, floor coverings. Bamboo boards have a lower density compared
to wooden boards, which is why structures made of such a material are lightweight.
It is a mistake who, judging by its appearance, considers bamboo to be fragile and short-lived.
Previously, palaces were even built from bamboo. The strength and resilience of bamboo is evidenced
by the fact that it is used as reinforcement in cement buildings.
By the way, in Cambodia there is a masterpiece bridge over the Mekong River with a length
of as much as 300 meters! It is built every year in the dry season, and before the rainy
season it is dismantled and stored in a warehouse. It can be used not only by pedestrians and
cyclists, but also by cars. This bridge connects the river island of Ko Pen and the city of
Kampong Cham, located on the west bank. The "annual" bamboo bridge turns out to be quite
strong and wide, because parts of the building structure are installed deeply and at different
angles in the riverbed. Bamboo bends and bounces, but does not break, so with reasonable precautions,
the river can be crossed not only on a motorcycle, but also in a passenger car.
He also holds the record for the longest bamboo bridge. To rebuild it, you need about 50 thousand
bamboo sticks! See how easy it is to install a bamboo fence.
This is the simplest type of fence. The trunks are installed vertically, tied with a rope
into a solid blank canvas and tied to transverse beams fixed to the posts. It is necessary
to alternate the thin and thick ends of the stems so that the fence is evenly dense. The
beauty of such a fence largely depends on the accuracy of the ligament. The nodes are
placed on the inside of the fence. To extend the life of the fence, a "roof"
is made over it from a board or half of a large bamboo trunk. This prevents rainwater
from getting inside the stems and prevents them from rotting from the inside.
The strength of the stems brings unnecessary trouble when processing bamboo - it cannot
be cut with an ordinary saw; you must use a jigsaw. Before sawing, a hole should be
drilled along the cutting line, and the jigsaw should be set to a small stroke amplitude.
It is necessary to cut slowly - then the workpiece will not crack or break.
With the correct positioning of the halves of the bamboo sections, when its panels are
lifted off the ground, it can stand for more than twenty years. Since bamboo is a natural
product, it gradually begins to erode, something similar happens with wood. To slow down the
aging process, the fence must be treated with a sealant. The whole structure is firmly tied
with a coconut rope.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of bamboo in the life of a panda, because
it forms the basis of their diet. If there are no bamboo plantations, then the animals
are simply threatened with starvation. Evolutionary processes have led to
the fact that the intestines of pandas are not intended for digesting meat, while the
esophagus and stomach of these animals are lined with a thick layer of elastic mucous
tissue to protect them from bamboo chips. However, this plant has a low nutritional
value, as a result of which bears must eat 10 to 40 kg of bamboo per day. Research by
scientists has shown that giant pandas have evolved to adapt to bamboo food due to their
minimal energy consumption and hormonal levels. Of the three hundred species of Chinese bamboo,
the panda agrees to eat a little more than ten - umbrella, ringed, arrow-shaped, xiphoid
bamboos and some more. Moreover, he eats only sufficiently young plants, and not those that
have been waiting for flowering for a hundred years.
If a panda eats a bamboo plantation, she will need to move to another plantation, and not
wait for fresh shoots. Therefore, a person with his economic activities can doom the
last thousand pandas to extinction. If suitable species of bamboo are destroyed nearby, then
the panda will not be able to feed on other plants, even if there are very, very many
of them. Panda and bamboo have become symbols of China.
This is a peace-loving bear that can, but does not want to be a predator, and
a tenacious plant of amazing flexibility, suitable for a variety of uses.