bamboo

& a. [In Sw. bamburör; Dan. bam busrör Ger. bambus -rohr and bambus; Dut. bamboesriet and bamboes Fr. bambou; Sp. can a bambos; Port. bambu; Ital. canna bambu. From Mahratta bamboo or bambû; or from Malay bamboo or bambû, also mambu.] A. As substantive : Any species of the botanical genus Bambusa, and specially the best-known one, Bambusa a rund in ace a . [BAMBUSA.] It is a giant-gra , sometimes reaching the height of forty or more feet, which is found everywhere in the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere, and has been introduced into the West Indies, the Southern States of America, and various other regions in the Western world. It has the usual characteristics of a gra -the cylindrical stem, of flinty hardne externally, while soft or even hollow within; the separation of the stem into nodes and internodes; and the inflorescence of a type found in many genera of the order, namely, in great panicles made up of a series of spikes of flowers. In some cases a substance called tabasheer [TABASHEER], consisting of pure silica, is found secreted in the nodes. The uses to which the several species of bamboos are put in the regions where they grow are almost innumerable. In house building they furnish the framework of the sides and roof, with the joists and other parts of the flooring. Villages of such materials are in many cases rendered very difficult of attack by being surrounded by a thick fence of spiny species. Bows, arrows, quivers, the shafts of lances, and other warlike weapons can be made from the stems of bamboo, as can ladders, rustic bridges, the masts of ve els, walkingsticks, water-pipes, flutes, and many other objects. The leaves are everywhere used for weaving and for packing purposes. Finally, the seeds are eaten by the poorer cla es in parts of India; and in the West Indies the tops of the tender shoots are pickled and made to supply the place of asparagus. B. As adjective : Pertaining to the bamboo; made of bamboo, consisting of bamboo, resembling the bamboo. (See the compounds which follow.) bamboo - cane, bamboo cane, s8. Another name for the bamboo. =