Mr Bamboo - Bamboo words and lingo explained in detail.

Bamboo Care - Glossary of Bamboo Terms ... Bamboo Lingo.

Can't remember what that word means?
This list contains many new and forgotten bamboo related words. Watch out for the dust lurking between the lines.
We do not take any responsibility for individuals with word phobia symptoms who crack under this bamboo lingo.

If you are the adventurous type, and for whatever reason you might have a new or forgotten word(s) up your sleeve, click here to add it to our reference, and many thanks for everyone’s contribution.

Click on the letters below to locate words faster

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

Adventitious	Adventuring. Occurring in an abnormal or unusual position, such as a root.
Arcuate	Bent like a bow, arching strongly.
Auricle	An earlike appendage that occurs at the base of some 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	Nice alcoholic drink.
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.
Dainty	Of delicate beauty or charm; exquisite.
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.
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 60 cm. of soil. Thus, an open ended, "Escape Proof" planter, set well deeper than the rhizome goes, will prevent running bamboo from spreading.
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.
Fragile	Like my head after a days work at Mr Bamboo.
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.
HIPS (high impact polysterene)	A 4 mm thick sheets, 1 m. deep are used to form “escape proof” planters often using two layers to allow for cracking under 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 of the soil.
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.
Stilt	One of several high posts underneath any structure built above land or over water.
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. 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. The rhizomes emerge from the lateral buds of other rhizomes, while the terminal buds produce new culms.
Systemic	Affect the whole system. In this case bamboo. Systemic insecticide can move across cell divisions and locate inside the plant.
Tabaschir (Tabasheer)	Siliceous substance found within the culms of some bamboos. 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 the addition of small amounts of the elements zinc, boron, manganese, molybdenum, and copper. Lack of these is sometimes a problem and 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.
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.
Velutinous	Velvety in texture.
Ventricose	Swelled out unequally on one side. Possessing a protruding abdomen.
Water retainer	Watered in to the root ball when planted, keeps moisture attached to the bamboo roots. In Australia "Hydretain Plus" is marketed by Lanes.

TOP