AbstractsChemistry

Bamboo, whose estimated number of species ranges from 500 to 1000 comprising some 60 or more genera (l) is usually a mild-climate plant and few species are native to cold temperature regions. Most species are native to Asia and adjacent islands, large stands of naturally habited bamboo being scattered along the tropical belt of Asia, and also across Africa to central America. Bamboo grows so rapidly both above and beneath the soil that very few plants can interfere with it to any appreciable exent (l). The maximum rate of bamboo growth has been reported as high as 91 cm. per day (12.2 meters in 5-6 weeks), reaching maturity in about 3 years (l). [...]