“Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
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Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#2> Perhaps even more surprising than the long intervals at which they flower is the fact that all plants of the same stock of bamboo will bloom at the same time, and then die, no matter where they are in the world.
> Although the mechanism has yet to be explained by science, many believe there is some kind of natural “alarm clock” in the plant’s cells causing the behavior.
That is amazing. I'm having a hard time imagining how that could even be possible, for DNA to have an "absolute" sense of time. Some kind of day/night/time of year "counting" mechanism?
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#3> Perhaps even more surprising than the long intervals at which they flower is the fact that all plants of the same stock of bamboo will bloom at the same time, and then die, no matter where they are in the world. > Although the mechanism has yet to be explained by science, many believe there is some kind of natural “alarm clock” in the plant’s cells causing the behavior. That is amazing. I'm having a hard time imagi…
What does "same stock" mean in this case?
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#4> The rest of the article can be viewed on our partner’s website, grape Japan at ”Once-In-A-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported In Japan“ (https://grapee.jp/en/114838)
Why don't link the complete article instead of the japan-forward one?
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#5> Perhaps even more surprising than the long intervals at which they flower is the fact that all plants of the same stock of bamboo will bloom at the same time, and then die, [...]
What?
I thought bamboo is a fast growing thing, and it's easy to grow bamboo. Just stick it into the soil in the right conditions and it'll sprout roots and grow. (It can even be grown from seeds.)
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#6> Perhaps even more surprising than the long intervals at which they flower is the fact that all plants of the same stock of bamboo will bloom at the same time, and then die, no matter where they are in the world. > Although the mechanism has yet to be explained by science, many believe there is some kind of natural “alarm clock” in the plant’s cells causing the behavior. That is amazing. I'm having a hard time imagi…
What does "same stock" mean in this case?
Same clone.
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#7> Perhaps even more surprising than the long intervals at which they flower is the fact that all plants of the same stock of bamboo will bloom at the same time, and then die, no matter where they are in the world. > Although the mechanism has yet to be explained by science, many believe there is some kind of natural “alarm clock” in the plant’s cells causing the behavior. That is amazing. I'm having a hard time imagi…
What does "same stock" mean in this case?
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Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#8> Perhaps even more surprising than the long intervals at which they flower is the fact that all plants of the same stock of bamboo will bloom at the same time, and then die, [...] What? I thought bamboo is a fast growing thing, and it's easy to grow bamboo. Just stick it into the soil in the right conditions and it'll sprout roots and grow. (It can even be grown from seeds.)
Growing and flowering are two different things.
As the article mentions, some types of bamboo will flower only once every 100 odd years. When they do, they pollenate each-other and grow fruits and die.
In some parts of the world rats will feasts on these fruits, and rodent populations will explode, contributing to the "Bad Omen".
> Just stick it into the soil in the right conditions
When all the bamboo decides to flower and die at the same time, what exactly are you planning to stick in the ground?
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#9Bamboo blossom is a super interesting botanical fact, and a regular front-pager on Reddits "Today I learned"
> For example, devastating consequences occur when the Melocanna bambusoides population flowers and fruits once every 30–35 years[6] around the Bay of Bengal. The death of the bamboo plants following their fruiting means the local people lose their building material, and the large increase in bamboo fruit leads to a rapid increase in rodent populations. As the number of rodents increases, they consume all available food, including grain fields and stored food, sometimes leading to famine.[7] These rats can also carry dangerous diseases, such as typhus, typhoid, and bubonic plague, which can reach epidemic proportions as the rodents increase in number.
Re: “Once-in-a-Hundred Year” Sightings of Bamboo Blossoms Reported in Japan
#10Bamboo species are amazing. I grow Bambusa oldhamii - useful for food (shoots) and timber. It's a clumping variety, so quite easy to control, and tolerant (if not particularly happy) of dry, wet, heat, and cold.
But my clones are taken from a variety that flowered in the 90's, IIRC, so there's some confidence they won't all flower (and immediately die) for another ~70 years.
The variety they're talking about here is a mild running type (most runners are very rampant, and not recommended unless you've got containment systems in place).
Thailand famously had a big flowering event in the late 1980's that killed off vast tracts of plantations.