bamboo

Everyday

1. Bamboo is a very tall, fast-growing plant, a kind of giant grass, with hard hollow stems divided into sections. tree →
2. Bamboo is also the strong, light material made from those stems, used for building, furniture, fishing rods and even toothbrushes. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons bamboo comes up as the food of giant pandas and as one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth — some kinds grow almost a metre in a single day. In design and technology and in lessons about the environment, bamboo is a sustainable material because it grows back quickly. In Asian stories and art, bamboo is a sign of strength because it bends in the wind but does not break.

Examples

• Pandas eat bamboo almost all day. tree →
• Bamboo is a kind of giant grass. tree →
• Some bamboo can grow very fast in a single day. tree →
• We grew beans up bamboo canes in the school garden. tree →
• My new toothbrush is made of bamboo. tree →
• The bamboo stem is hollow inside. tree →
• The bamboo bent in the storm but did not snap. tree →
• They built a raft from bamboo poles. tree →
• Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. tree →

Note

Usually uncountable: «some bamboo», «a bamboo cane», «a bamboo forest». Bamboo is a grass, not a tree, even though it can be as tall as a tree. Spelling: double «o» at the end.