What is the reason bamboo dies after flowering?

Bamboo is a relatively common plant. Because bamboo reproduces asexually through underground rhizomes, it only flowers when it is about to wither and die or when water, drought, or insect pests are rampant. This easily leads people to associate it with famine years, disasters, and hunger, so some people in Chinese folk culture regard it as an omen of fleeing famine and troubled times and taboo it. Now let us take a look at why bamboo dies after flowering!

Does bamboo really flower?

Bamboo does flower. Bamboo does not flower and bear fruit every year like ordinary flowering plants, so some people mistakenly think bamboo does not flower. In fact, bamboo is a flowering plant, and when it reaches a certain age it also flowers and sets seed. After flowering, bamboo dies because it does not have enough nutrients to continue growing. When it flowers, white flocculent material generally appears, and the flower spikes contain white filaments and small particles the size of rice grains, called bamboo rice in folk culture. Bamboo flowering has a huge impact on ecology; for example, giant pandas may die because of a lack of food.

The flowering cycle of bamboo

Different types of bamboo have different flowering cycle lengths. This is influenced by heredity and is also related to the natural environment. Some bamboos flower only after more than ten or several decades, such as Dendrocalamus strictus and Banna sweet bamboo, which need about 30 years to flower; Cizhu and Majiazhu need 32 years to flower; some species in the genus Bambusa need more than 80 years to flower, and some even take as long as a century to flower, such as Guizhu, which needs 120 years to flower. Of course, there are a few exceptions, such as Qunrui bamboo and Xianhen cezhu, which flower about once a year, while Tangzhu and Xiaoshun bamboo flower irregularly.

Why does bamboo die after flowering?

Why does bamboo wither and die in patches after flowering? This is a question that has puzzled people for a long time, and scientists also hold different views on it. Some scientists believe that when bamboo grows to a certain age, aging inevitably occurs, and in order to reproduce, it flowers and sets seed before its life ends. Bamboo flowering exhausts the nutrients stored in the rhizomes and culms. In most species, such as moso bamboo and pear bamboo, both the aboveground and underground parts all die after flowering. However, in a few bamboo species such as spotted bamboo, Guizhu, and Yazhu, the aboveground parts die after flowering, while the buds in the underground parts can still rejuvenate and regenerate. There are also individual bamboo species such as water bamboo and flower bamboo whose leaves remain green after flowering and whose underground parts do not die either. However, the flowering branches should be cut off as soon as possible to reduce nutrient consumption, thereby ensuring the normal growth of the bamboo grove.

Reports of bamboo flowering

Around 1986, beside the primary school in Lilin Village, Futu Town, Yangxin County, Hubei Province, the originally dense moso bamboo grove flowered in patches and then withered and died.

On February 23, 2014, a large area of bamboo grove at the entrance of the Yunmaofa fragrant pig farm in Shanxing Village, Jiangjiehe Town, Weng'an County, Guizhou Province, flowered. Today several plants were seen with yellowed leaves.

Around April 2014, bamboo planted in front of the homes of nearly a thousand farming households on Qianchuan Street, Huangpi District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, all showed flowering.

At the end of April 2014, bamboo in Cangsheng Park in Shouguang City, Weifang City, Shandong Province, showed flowering.

In early May 2014, bamboo on the campus of No. 4 Middle School in Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province, showed large-scale flowering.

In mid-May 2014, the bamboo grove on the campus of Changyi No. 1 Middle School in Shandong Province flowered on a large scale.

On May 21, 2014, the bamboo grove in the courtyard of the Changli Fruit Tree Research Institute of the Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences showed large-scale flowering.

On May 22, 2014, on the east side of the south end of Nanyang Bridge in Qingzhou City, Shandong Province, there was a bamboo grove about 30 m long and about 20 m wide, and most of the bamboo had produced flowers like rice ears, rice-yellow in color, with long filaments protruding, very unusual.

On June 1, 2014, in Jinan Quancheng Park in Jinan City, Shandong Province, a large area of bamboo flowered, shaped like white flower spikes, with protruding filaments.

On June 3, 2014, all the bamboo in the Unicom courtyard in Beidaihe District, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, flowered, with flowers shaped like wheat ears, light green in color, about 2 cm long

On June 4, 2014, bamboo flowering was observed in Xiaozhuyuan, Zhaxia Town, Shuyang County, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province.

In mid-June 2014, bamboo flowered at the China Institute of Atomic Energy in Beijing.