Bambusoideae - Bamboos

Bamboo

The bamboos are a subfamily (Bambusoideae) of flowering perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family..

Uses

Ulcer, Cancer, Rhinorrhagia, Diabetes, Impotence, Infertility, Menstrual pains

Parts Used

Bamboo shoots, Essential oils.

Chemical Composition

Amboo plant is a rich source of resins, arginine, silica, riboflavin, choline, thiamine, betaine, gluteline, cyanogenic glycosides, tyrosine, niacin, protein, albuminoids, histidine, oxalic acid, reducing sugar, phenylamine, nuclease, waxes, valine, urease, proteolytic enzyme, taxiphyllin, methionine, benzoic acid, urease, threonine, isoleucine, lysine, cysteine, acetylcholine.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	Bidiru
Hindi	Baans
Malayalam
Tamil
Telugu
Marathi	NA
Gujarathi	NA
Punjabi	NA
Kashmiri	NA
Sanskrit
English	Bamboo

Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Rasa

Madhura (Sweet)

Guna

Shita (cool), Mridu (Soft), Snigdha (Unctuous), Bahala (Thick), Guru (Heavy), Manda (Mild), Prasanna (Pleasant)

Veerya

Shita (Cool)

Vipaka

Madhura (Sweet)

Prabhava

Manaskara (Pleasing to mind)

Habit

Grass or tree

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature
alternate	stipulate	The leaves are alternate, stipulate, paripinnate compound, very numerous, closely placed, rachis 8.8-12.5 cm long, narrowly furrowed, slender, pubescent, with an erect linear gland between the leaflets of each pair, leaflets 16-24, very shortly stalked 2-2.5 cm long 1-1.3 cm broad, slightly overlapping, oval oblong, obtuse, at both the ends

.

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
bisexual	2.5 cm long	bright yellow	5-20	The racemes are few-flowered, short, erect, crowded in axils of upper leaves so as to form a large terminal inflorescence stamens barren; the ovary is superior, unilocular, with marginal ovules.

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information
short legume	7.5–11 cm long, 1.5 cm broad	clearly grooved lengthwise, Lowest hooked hairs aligned towards crown	oblong, obtuse, tipped with long style base, flat, thin, papery, undulately crimpled, pilose, pale brown.	12-20 seeds	{{{6}}}

List of Ayurvedic medicine in which the herb is used

• Vishatinduka Taila as root juice extract

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings.

How to plant/cultivate

Many bamboos are popular in cultivation as garden plants, although care needs to be taken lest they take over the garden through their invasive behavior.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Diverse climate, Cold mountains, Hot tropical regions.

Photo Gallery

• 

  Bamboo in a botanical garden

• 

  Leaves

• 

  Bamboo forest at Kamakurazuisen

• 

  Bamboo forest on Puerto Rico

• 

  Stem

External Links

• The Amazing Bamboo-A Review on its Medicinal and Pharmacological Potential
• Bamboo Diversity and Traditional Uses in Yunnan, China
• Bamboo tea-reduction of taxonomic complexity and application of DNA diagnostics based on rbcL and matK sequence data
• Bambusoideae on encyclopedea of britannica