BAMBOO

An Asiatic genus of arborescent gra es, with hollow jointed stems, and a hardy woody texture. They are externally coated with silex, and sometimes secrete the same substance in the hollows of their stems, when it is called tabasheer. Bamboos grow with great rapidity, and their shoots are cut when young, and boiled like asparagus. They vary in size, according to the [s. 134]