Whatever your climate, there is a suitable species of bamboo for your garden. More than 300 bamboos are described, from tropical and subtropical species to hardy species with information on size, native range, and landscape use.

With reference to India.

Bamboo’s amazing versatility, strength, and beauty have given it a larger role in human culture than any other plant. Both sustainable and plentiful, it has been used for millennia to make objects ranging from clothing and housing to more exotic luxuries like phonograph needles and children’s toys, to name but a few. This acclaimed sourcebook--part history, part illustrated catalog, part cultivation guide--details the myriad uses of bamboo, along with an immense bounty of information and lore on how to grow, maintain, and harvest this extraordinary plant; how to use it in craft and construction projects, including floors, fences, papers, and play equipment; and bamboo’s place in the literary, visual, and musical arts. An encyclopedic roster of more than 1,200 bamboo species is a book in itself, as is author David Farrelly’s A-to-Z catalog of artifacts made from bamboo: acupuncture needles, blowguns, bridges, kites, ships, violins, windmills, and a thousand other things. Strong, flexible, and beautiful in both its natural and finished states, bamboo is an abundant resource that could beneficially replace many less sustainable materials currently in use, and continue to transform our culture in the process.

Includes over three hundred color photos, covers thirty-five genera of bamboos in cultivation, and describes more than three hundred species and cultivars, with each entry including the plant's maximum height, maximum diameter, light requirements, and minimum temperature tolerated. Original.

This book presents the state-of-the-art knowledge on bamboo. It starts with an introduction to the plant’s biology, its taxonomy, habitat, morphology and growth. The cultivation of bamboo is discussed in terms of silviculture, pests and diseases, and harvesting techniques. The book is completed by a comprehensive presentation of the properties of bamboo, its utilization and its preservation. Bamboo is the fastest-growing and most versatile plant on Earth. For centuries it has played an indispensible part in the daily life of millions of people in tropical countries. In recent decades it has gained increasing importance as a substitute for timber. The book was developed as a reference text for scientists, professionals, and graduate students with a strong interest in this unique plant.

First published in 1966, this book remains an indispensable classic of botany and horticulture, the only such work on bamboos in any Western language.

Bamboos constitute one of a few select categories of plants which are taxonomically related, very rich in species and of vital economic and ecological importance. Since the early 20th century the accepted number of species of bamboos, world wide, has tripled. However, until now information was scattered through numerous, often not easily available publications.The Bamboos of the World, is the first comprehensive (taxonomic as well as horticultural) reference work that provides basic information on bamboos world wide, whether they are wild or cultivated, well-known or rather unknown. The work, based on bamboo literature, facilitates access to further data by citation and a comprehensive bibliography. Among the main data included are botanical names with synonyms, and geographical distribution of genera and species, varieties with their distinctive characters, common bamboo names, plant introductions to the West, plant size and uses. The distribution of genera is mapped.The Bamboos of the World presents a wealth of essential information in an accessible and structured manner. It gives the opportunity to check under what names, and where, relevant information on any bamboo can be found. For the researcher with management and development interests it provides a convenient means of basing bamboo resource on a sound understanding of generic and species relationships, with names that appear in earlier literature put into context. The work should prove to be invaluable for those interested in the morphology, taxonomy, distribution and cultivation of bamboos. It should support botanical, forestry, horticultural and ecological research, training and resource management.