Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial
flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass
family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass
family. Bamboo is a very fast growing, renewable and easy-to-grow
resource. It is an extremely versatile material with countless uses
including construction, clothes, food and fuel. The absence of secondary
growth wood causes the stems of monocots, including the palms and large
bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering. Bamboos include some of
the fastest-growing plants in the world, due to a unique
rhizome-dependent system. Certain species of bamboo can grow 91
centimetres (36 inches) within a 24-hour period, at a rate of almost 40
millimetres (1+1⁄2 in) an hour (equivalent to 1 mm every 90 seconds).
This rapid growth and tolerance for marginal land, make bamboo a good
candidate for afforestation, carbon sequestration and climate change
mitigation.