Glossary

horizontal culms

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Adventitious Adventuring. Occurring in an abnormal or unusual position, such as a root.

Anaerobic literally means without air/oxygen(stinks), as opposed to aerobic.

Arcuate Bent like a bow, arching strongly.

Auricle An earlike appendage that occurs at the base of some culm leaves.

Blade, leaf blade Describing a flat, spear shaped leaf common to grasses and cereal.

Bloom The fine, waxy-looking powder – usually white – that covers all or part of a plant.

Bole Stem or trunk, usually refers to tree. Probably describes a particularly large bamboo culm.

Branch The limb arising from the nodes of the bamboo culm, sub-branches refer to the branches from the branches.

Brownish As in with a brownish tinge, usually with the hint of green or yellow underlying still.

Bud An undeveloped or embryonic shoot.

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Caducous Falling off early.

Caespitose Growing in dense tufts or clumps. Describes bamboos whose rhizomes are “clumping” as opposed to “running”, and which therefore do not tend to develop along the surface of the soil.

Caryopsis A dry seed-like fruit whose pericarp (the part of the fruit enclosing the seed) is fused to the seed coat of the single seed, and which does not open spontaneously on ripening.

Chelate A chemical compound whose molecules contain metal (iron) atoms.

Chlorosis A lack of iron characterised in plants by an often intense yellow of the leaves.

Cilium (pl. cilia) One of the marginal hairs bordering the auricle.

Clumping Bamboo (Sympodial) Where the rhizome is quite short, in some clumping species it is little more than a short neck that turns upwards becoming a culm. Other clumping bamboo rhizome has an elongated neck, developing a more spaced clump.

Clone All the plants reproduced, vegetatively, from a single parent plant. In theory, all the plants from the same clone have the same genotype (genetic inheritance).

Coarse Rough and grainy, (textural).

Conspicuous Obvious, standing out.

Convex Curving outward.

Coriaceous Leathery (textural).

Culm Bamboo stem.

Culm annulus The node.

Culm base Base of the culm where it joins the rhizome.

Culm sheath The plant casing (similar to a leaf) that protects the young bamboo shoot during growth.

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Dainty Of delicate beauty or charm.

Deciduous Not remaining, usually refers to the culm sheath when it falls off immediately, the culm is fully extended.

Denticle Small tooth like projection.

Diageotropically At right angles to gravity. Straight up like a stem of running bamboo.

Diffuse Of running bamboo, having evenly spaced culms rather distant from each other.

Dolomite A carbonate of calcium and magnesium. Useful as a source of these elements, raises pH.

Durable Long lasting, usually refers to culm sheath.

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Edible Okay to eat, not necessarily delicious.

Erect Standing upright.

“escape proof” bamboo planters Being a shallow rooted plant, bamboo stays mainly within the top 60cm. of soil. Thus, an open ended, “Escape Proof” planter, set well deeper than the rhizome goes, will prevent running bamboo from spreading.

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Falciform Curved like a sickle.

Fertiliser for bamboo n:10. p:5. k:5. sil:6 where N = nitrogen. P= phosphate. K = potassium. Sil = silica.

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Genus (pl. genera) A subdivision of a family of plants with structural characteristics in common, usually containing one or more species.

Glabrous Free of hair or down, smooth-skinned.

Gregarious flowering Usually occurs when all the plants in a single clone (which has been repeatedly divided and distributed) flower at about the same time.

Greyish With a hint of grey overlying the green.

Grooved Like a record.

Grove A more open clump of bamboo, widely spaced culms but still all from the same plant.

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HDPE Plastic sheet used for Rhizome Barrier 1 m. deep are used to form “escape proof” planters often using two layers to allow for pressure.

Hue Colour or more often a slight tint of a colour.

Hydretain Plus Commercial product. liquid containing water retaining and hygroscopic properties that buffer plants against water loss.

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Incised Cut open carefully with a very sharp knife usually scalpel.

Internode The part of the culm, branch, or rhizome between two nodes.

Interspersed Scattered.

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Lacerate Shred, tear.

Lanceolate Long, tapering toward each end.

Leaf The flat, thin organ of the plant which contains the most chlorophyll, which allows the plant to photosynthesis and is therefore the main energy sourcing organ of the plant.

Leptomorphic Describes the long, thin rhizome typical of running bamboos. These rhizomes are usually thinner than the culms they produce and their internodes are long, slender and hollow.

Ligule A strap-shaped membranous outgrowth occurring at the junction of the leaf blade and sheath in many grasses.

Longitudinal Along the length of the culm, leaf, etc.

Lopped Cut off using pruners, single cut with pruners.

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Maculated bamboo A species of bamboo that has blotchy or mottled markings naturally; BAMBUSA maculata. It grows to 15 m, cultivated in Bali and Java where it is called as PRING TUTUL, Pring being the local name for bamboo and Tutul meaning spots. It also grows wild in the Moluccas and the Lesser Sunda Islands.The dry culms have highly contrasting dark blotches. Used primarily for furniture but also for musical instruments, wall panels, flooring and handicrafts.

Margin Usually refers to the edge of the leaf.

Mature Fully grown.

Misty Obscured, indistinct in form.

Monopodial Describes the growth habit of the rhizomes of running bamboos. The main rhizome continues to grow underground, with some buds producing side shoots (new rhizomes) and others producing aerial shoots (new culms).

Mulch Material, preferably organic, placed on the soil around a plant to modify water and temperature variations. Mulch is magic. How so? Bare soil dries out quickly, that same soil covered with 100 mm. of mulch maintains its moisture. Worms crawl about on what once was the surface and is now dark and cool and under colonisation by millions of beneficial organisms. Plant roots can come right into the mulch, breaking it down, soon fallen bamboo leaves will create a self renewing mulch etc.

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Node The point at which the branches spring from the culm, or the fibrous root from the rhizome; set at regular intervals.

Pachymorphic Describes the rhizomes of caespitose (clumping) bamboos. They are short and usually thicker than the culm produced by the terminal bud.These rhizomes have a circular cross-section that diminishes towards the tip. The internodes are short, thick (except the bud-bearing internodes, which are more elongated) and solid (that is, they have no central cavity). The nodes are not prominent (they are not raised or bulbous)

pH Low pH is acid, high pH is alkaline , neutral is 7.

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Photosynthesis Conversion of light to energy; by the leaves of the bamboo.

Persistent Remaining for some time, usually the culm sheaths.

Pluricaespitose Of the running type. Culms emerge in clusters distant from one another yet all being the same plant.

Polythelene A dense and flexible plastic used for ‘escape proof’ planters. It is more expensive than HIPS, but more flexible thus less prone to damage. See also Rhizome Barrier, made using HDPE, High Density Polyethylene.

Prominent Obvious, protruding noticeably.

Prophyllum The first leaf. A sheath at the first node of a branch.

Pruinose Covered with white, powdery wax, usually of the culm and is very attractive.

Pubescence The down or small hairs covering the culm, culm sheath, etc. of the plant.

Pubescent Covered with down or tiny hairs. not to be confused with pruinose.

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Rhizome An underground stem that grows horizontally.

Rhizome barrier Made using HDPE, High Density Polyethylene. Used to enclose Running Bamboo planted in-ground. The bamboo is planted, confined within a cylinder of HDPE. The cylinder is set deeper than the bamboo rhizome and higher than the soil surface.

Root Not to be confused with rhizome, the roots uptake water and nutrients to feed the plant.

Rootball The large grouping of roots at the base of the plant.

Running Describes a bamboo whose rhizomes have a markedly horizantal growth habit, and tend to develop along the surface zone of the soil.

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Sickle An implement for cutting grain, grass, etc., consisting of a curved, hooklike blade mounted in a short handle.

Sheath The protecting sheath on the culm of the bamboo when it is young.

Shoot The stage in the development of the bud before it becomes a culm with branches and leaves.

Stalks The stem or main axis of a plant. Any slender supporting or connecting part of a plant, as the petiole of a leaf.

Stem Usually referred to as culm, the upper part of the bamboo which extends above the ground, and holds the branches and leaves to catch light, oxygen and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. when it is under the ground or just emerging it is known as the shoot, when rapidly extending to its full height may also be known as the turion, and when branched and leafed known as the culm. when this part is severed from the plant, it then becomes the well known and beloved bamboo cane. Typically bamboo culms are diageotropic, they grow at right angles from the ground.

Stilt One of several high posts underneath any structure built above land or over water. This is stretching the dictionary

Striae Linear marks on the leaves, sheaths or culms.

Striated With these linear markings.

Sulcus The furrow or grove above the node in many bamboos. The Phyllostachys genus in particular. Occurs on culms and branches.

Sulphureous Sulphur coloured i.e. yellow or deep golden.

Supra-nodal bridge The ridge directly above the node.

Sympodial Describes the growth habit of the rhizomes of cespitose (clumping) bamboos. Clumping bamboo rhizomes emerge from the side buds of earlier rhizomes, while the terminal buds keep growing to produce the new clum.

Systemic Affect the whole system. In this case bamboo. Systemic insecticide can move across cell divisions and locate inside the plant. I need to add here that at Mr Bamboo we use predator bugs and not poison.

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Tabaschir (Tabasheer) Siliceous substance found within the culms of some bamboos eg Giant Thorny Bamboo Bambusa arundinaceae. Considered to have medicinal, and aphrodisiac properties.

Tassel-like Hanging in elongated clusters.

Tip Right at the furthest point from the base.

Trace elements Plants need small amounts of trace elements. These include; Zinc, boron, manganese, molybdenum, copper, And others. Lack of these is sometimes a problem and can be difficult to analyse.

Truncate Ending abruptly.

Tuft Collection of leaves clustered together at the base.

Turion The tender, young shoot as it emerges from the ground without branches or leaves.
Twig Small branch.

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Unicaespitose Having many culms arranged in a single tuft. Clumping type.

Vein Usually leaf vein, the vessels in the leaves which carry water, nutrients and hormones to and from various parts of the plant, visible within the leaves of most plants.

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Velutinous Velvety in texture.

Ventricose Swelled out unequally on one side. Possessing a protruding abdomen.

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Water retainer Watered in to the root ball when planted out, keeps moisture attached to the bamboo roots. Used also to retain water in pots. Expand prior to planting.

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