There are over 1700 species of bamboo. Bamboo flowering cycles happen in some but not all of the species. Bamboo has lots of uses, and it has been used for decades. Additionally, bamboo is the fastest-growing plant in the world. Have you ever seen bamboo flowering? Does bamboo flower at all? Let’s get some answers in the next sections.
What Is The Bamboo Flowering Cycle?
Some diffferent species of bamboo can grow up to 72-feet tall. For most of their life, bamboo plants remain in the vegetative growth stage. When they flower, they flower sporadically at the same time. This is regardless of their geographical location. This mass flowering phenomenon is referred to as gregarious flowering.
Soon after flowering, the bamboo plants die. After a while, there will be new bamboo seedlings everywhere. The mass death of the bamboo plants is speculated to be because of the flowering cycle. The energy produced for flowering cycles causes too much stress on the bamboo plants, and they die out.
There are many theories as to why mass flowering and consequent death of the plants happen to such an extent. Another interesting theory is that the mother plant dies to make space for seedlings. The time it takes the bamboo plants to flower differs between each bamboo species. Other species take 50 years, while other species take 32 years.
The short answer to the question: does bamboo flower? Is YES.
What Happens During Bamboo Flowering?
There are herbaceous bamboo and woody bamboo. The majority of herbaceous bamboo flower annually, while woody bamboos can take 3-150 years to have a flowering cycle. This means you can be born, live, and die without having ever seen a bamboo flowering cycle.
Depending on the species, growth environment, and general circumstance, there are only three types of flowering in bamboo, they are:
Sporadic flowering