Morphology: the structure of bamboo plants

Bamboos are well adapted to the environments in which they grow. As primitive grasses, they evolved in the forest understorey, which is where most woody bamboos are to be found to this day. Their morphology is discussed here in terms of how the different components combine to form architectural strategies that allow them to compete in their natural habitats, and then in terms of the separate components, which is most useful for identification.

Architecture Vegetative architecture Growth Strategies Flowering Components Full listing and discussion Reference Morphology of woody bamboos. STAPLETON (1997). PDF (Draft) Kew World Grass Database. Online list of grass terms and characters Bamboo Phylogeny Working Group. List of characters for coding