Bamboo longevity

Kiwirichard

Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

As you may notice i'm a bit of a green horn on this forum but i have to say i'm most impressed with the range topics,knowledge and expertize thats here and even that there's threads on bamboo. icon_cheers i love my bamboo patch.Ive got two variety's which i'll post photos when its daylight, but ive often wondered just how long will my bamboo patch last before they flower,ive heard that the same variety will flower and die all around the world at the same time,is that true?? and is there some kind of list of variety's and how long the live before flowering??
stephenprudence

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by stephenprudence »

I think they flower roughly the same time (like a Rhododendron or a rose, but it might only be one stalk, I have bamboo's (small ones) but they've never flowered in the 5 years I've had them
Darlo Mark

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Darlo Mark »

This is something I have not thought of! I have planted a bamboo screen for privacy but this could all die on mass!
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Bamboo flowering is often a global event as often most specimens originate from the the same plant.

The timings between flowering is unknown for many species as many have never flowered in recorded history. Some flower more regularly and die. The numerous seeds carry on the species and creates new variants/forms.

Some bamboos flower and don't die.


From Wikipedia....
Mass flowering
Flowering bambooAlthough some bamboos flower every year, most species flower infrequently. In fact, many bamboos only flower at intervals as long as 65 or 120 years. These taxa exhibit mass flowering (or gregarious flowering), with all plants in the population flowering simultaneously. The longest mass flowering interval known is 130 years, and is found for all the species Phyllostachys bambusoides (Sieb. & Zucc.). In this species, all plants of the same stock flower at the same time, regardless of differences in geographic locations or climatic conditions, then the bamboo dies. The lack of environmental impact on the time of flowering indicates the presence of some sort of “alarm clock” in each cell of the plant which signals the diversion of all energy to flower production and the cessation of vegetative growth.[10] This mechanism, as well as the evolutionary cause behind it, is still largely a mystery.

One theory to explain the evolution of this semelparous mass flowering is the predator satiation hypothesis. This theory argues that by fruiting at the same time, a population increases the survival rate of their seeds by flooding the area with fruit so that even if predators eat their fill, there will still be seeds left over. By having a flowering cycle longer than the lifespan of the rodent predators, bamboos can regulate animal populations by causing starvation during the period between flowering events. Thus, according to this hypothesis, the death of the adult clone is due to resource exhaustion, as it would be more effective for parent plants to devote all resources to creating a large seed crop than to hold back energy for their own regeneration.[11]

A second theory, the fire cycle hypothesis, argues that periodic flowering followed by death of the adult plants has evolved as a mechanism to create disturbance in the habitat, thus providing the seedlings with a gap in which to grow. This hypothesis argues that the dead culms create a large fuel load, and also a large target for lightning strikes, increasing the likelihood of wildfire.[12] Because bamboos are very aggressive as early successional plants, the seedlings would be able to outstrip other plants and take over the space left by their parents.

However, both have been disputed for different reasons. The predator satiation theory does not explain why the flowering cycle is 10 times longer than the lifespan of the local rodents, something not predicted by the theory. The bamboo fire cycle theory is considered by a few scientists to be unreasonable; they argue[13] that fires only result from humans and there is no natural fire in India. This notion is considered wrong based on distribution of lightning strike data during the dry season throughout India. However, another argument against this theory is the lack of precedent for any living organism to harness something as unpredictable as lightning strikes to increase its chance of survival as part of natural evolutionary progress.[14]

The mass fruiting also has direct economic and ecological consequences, however. The huge increase in available fruit in the forests often causes a boom in rodent populations, leading to increases in disease and famine in nearby human populations. For example, there are devastating consequences when the Melocanna bambusoides population flowers and fruits once every 30–35 years [1] around the Bay of Bengal. The death of the bamboo plants following their fruiting means the local people lose their building material, and the large increase in bamboo fruit leads to a rapid increase in rodent populations. As the number of rodents increase, they consume all available food, including grain fields and stored food, sometimes leading to famine. These rats can also carry dangerous diseases such as typhus, typhoid, and bubonic plague, which can reach epidemic proportions as the rodents increase in number.[10][11
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

That's interesting reading thanks Kris,the Bamboo patch ive got according to its owner is at last 40 years old and its been here another 5 years,so its getting on in years but it does say they can grow for as much as 120 before flowering so who knows how much longer its got icon_scratch

Ive just gone and got a photo of my patch which has still not reached full size yet,this variety can get as high as 6m,anyone know the name

Image
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

need a closer view i cant make it out at that distance.
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

Ok its just getting dark but i'll be right back...........
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

Sorry not the best photo,strong wind here

Image
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Adam D
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Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Adam D »

Phyllostachys aurea?
Trudytropics

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Trudytropics »

It looks very like my phyllo aurea hedge, agree with Adam :)
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

kiwirichard has it got congested nodes near the base like this if so then it is a .p. aurea
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Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

No it doen't look the same at the base as that one jacko icon_scratch ,i'll get another hopefully better photo in the morning
jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

the leaves look bigger than an aurea to me.in fact the way the upper branches look in that photo of yours looks a bit like a vivax in the way they drape down.other contenders could be phyllostachys nigra henon,phyllostachys bambusoides or Phyllostachys aureosulcata all these would make the 6 metre mark.i'm still guessing here though at the moment.
Kiwirichard

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by Kiwirichard »

A bit hard to get a good photo with the bright sun shine but i hope this is good enough to get a decent look at the base of this Bamboo,as you can see it doesnt have those congested nodes,they don't even stick out as much as much as well.

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jacko

Re: Bamboo longevity

Post by jacko »

the leaves look quite large to me which makes me think its a phyllostachys vivax or a phyllostachys bambusoides.vivax grows really fast and bambusoides grows a lot slower.the white ring around the nodes make me think its a vivax.how about a photo of your hand next to the leaves or holding one of the canes it will give me an idea of size.nice photos by the way.
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