1. The bamboo species that we know today has evolved from prehistoric grasses somewhere between thirty and forty million years ago. That was after the extinction of the dinosaurs. It then became a food source for herbivorous animals and eventually becoming a food source for homo sapiens.
2. Most people think that Bamboo is a type of tree, it is actually a grass species. In 1815, a German botanist (Carl Sigismund Kunth) categorized bamboo as a grass, not tree. According to him, bamboo is the only grass species that can diversify into a forest on its own.
3. Bamboo is known to be resilient and can survive under almost any condition. They can even withstand temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. During the 1945 atomic blast in Hiroshima, bamboo plant survive and was the first plant to re-sprout. The incinerating heat destroyed all trees and other plants except for one bamboo grove.
4. Bamboo cools down the surrounding air by up to 8 degrees in summer! This acts as a natural air conditioning for your garden and any buildings in proximity.
5. A panda's diet is 99% made up of bamboo shoots, poles and leaves, around 26 - 84 lbs every day! The other 1% is made up of meat and other plants.
6. When earthquakes happen in Asian countries, people run into bamboo groves/forests as they are known to be safe. This is due to their stable root structure and their symbolism for luck and good fortune!
7. The world record for the fastest growing plant belongs to certain species of the 45 genera of bamboo, which have been found to grow at up to 35 inch per day.
8. Clumping bamboo purifies the air up to 30% more effectively then any other plant! With the abundance of oxygen, this makes you happier & relieves tension & headaches!
9. Bamboo are a native plant in 5 continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Australia.
10. There are 1,439 identified bamboo species in the world. Only 100 of them are used for commercial purposes.
12. In China were already using bamboo for varied purposes. It was consumed as food, building material for housing, transportation tools, musical instrument, books and even weapons. China's first book was made of out bamboo strips tied together in strings.
11. Thomas Edison used a carbonized bamboo filament in his first successful lightbulb! It could last 1,200 hours.
13. In China, some liqueur manufacturers used bamboo trunks to age their alcohol, in place of the oak barrels. The alcohol is stored in the bamboo trunk and left to mix with the natural juice of bamboo. The bamboo helps to flavor and enhance the health properties of alcoholic beverages.
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