A plant native to India, with a very light and resistant articulated cane, bamboo has the property of developing at an astonishing speed. Certain species of this plant, such as Phyllostachys bambousoïdes , can grow up to a meter in just 24 hours.
In ancient times, eastern farmers believed that bamboos grew rapidly because the plant possesses magical properties. Today, scientists have found the physiological mechanism that allows bamboo to develop rapidly. The seedling – young plant – germinates with the shape it will have in adulthood. The stem, which appears hollow, is segmented by its definitive nodules, the transversal black lines that appear on the plant. Batteries of plant cells are stacked between one nodule and the other, which as they grow swell and unfold rapidly like the segments of a telescopic fishing rod.
